Saint of the day October 26: San José Gregorio Hernández. Catholic Saints

Every October 26, the Catholic Church celebrates Saint José Gregorio Hernández (1864-1919), who in his lifetime was already called “the doctor of the poor”, canonized just a few days ago, on October 19, 2025 by Pope Leo XIV.

José Gregorio Hernández was a doctor by profession, and combined practice with scientific research and university teaching. He became a member of the OFS (Secular Franciscan Order) as part of a path of discernment of God’s plans for his life. He died at the age of 54, the victim of a car accident.

Lawyer or doctor?

José Gregorio Hernández Cisneros was born on October 26, 1864 in the small town of Isnotú, Municipality of La Libertad, Betijoque District, in the state of Trujillo (Venezuela). He was the first of six siblings, one of whom died at 7 months. José lost his mother very early, when he was 8 years old. His father, a local grocery merchant, sent him to school, where he began to show his talent and intelligence, to the point that the classroom teacher suggested that he send his son to study in Caracas, the country’s capital.

At the age of 13, José Gregorio liked the idea of ​​being a lawyer, and he told his father, who suggested that he follow another path: medicine. From then on, the boy assumed the idea as his own, like a small epiphany of his vocation.

In Caracas he entered the Villegas School, owned by Guillermo Tell Villegas – a Venezuelan politician, three times interim president of Venezuela – who once described José Gregorio as “little given to playing with his classmates”, one of those students who “preferred to spend free time in the company of books.”

Be holy in college

At the age of 17 he entered the Central University of Venezuela (UCV) to study medicine. There he stood out among his peers, taking first place in his promotion; and in that position he graduated, first in his class. Already in those days he wrote: “In man, duty is the reason for right, so that man has duties, before having rights.”

Graduating as a doctor (June 29, 1888) was the final chapter of a training process in which José Gregorio had more than expanded his talent: he spoke several languages ​​and knew Latin and Hebrew; He had also dabbled in philosophy, theology and music – he learned to play the piano and violin -; and as if this were not enough, he also learned the tailor’s trade.

The president of the Faculty of Medicine then offered him an office in Caracas – an opportunity that would have allowed him to earn a lot of money and prestige – but José Gregorio declined the offer because he understood that his mission was with his own people, in the town where he was born, where the minimum was needed to care for his people. There was neither a doctor nor the infrastructure to ensure health for the rural population.

The great professional: by being first he became “last”

Back in Isnotú, José Gregorio realized his dream of putting himself at the service of the people. With his work he relieved many. He made the necessary medicines himself and obtained resources to improve care for his community. This supportive role accentuated his interest in better understanding diseases and awakened his desire to do scientific research. “The town doctor”, as he would begin to be called, did not bargain anything from anyone and served with total detachment, without charging the poor, seeing in each one of them the suffering Lord.

Dr. Hernández would make Isnotú his center of operations, from which he traveled to the surrounding towns of up to three states (Trujillo, Mérida and Táchira).

Suddenly, when he least expected it, one of his university teachers recommended him to none other than the President of the Republic, Juan Pablo Rojas Paúl, so that he could go to France to study experimental medicine and cooperate upon his return in the modernization of Venezuela’s health system. In Paris, José Gregorio rubbed shoulders with the best doctors of the time and with the school and legacy of Louis Pasteur, the famous French doctor and microbiologist.

The blessed first specialized in microbiology and bacteriology, and then moved to Berlin (Germany) to study histology and pathology. Thus, enriched by the European experience, he returned to Venezuela. It was Hernández who brought the first microscope to his country. On the other hand, he begins to teach at his alma mater, the Central University of Venezuela. In that study house he is dedicated to the training of future doctors and researchers. His work was inspired by his faith in God and devotion to the Virgin Mary. For him there was no opposition between his Catholicism and his scientific work, quite the opposite. José Gregorio combines the consultation, the laboratory and the chapel, where he spends time praying and participating in Mass. It is in this context that since December 7, 1899, he made the spirit and ideals of Saint Francis of Assisi his own when he was incorporated into the Secular Franciscan Order (SFO).

Lord, show us your will

José Gregorio Hernández’s deep religious convictions led him to seriously consider religious life at various stages of his life. In fact, there are some periods in which his professional work was “interrupted”: first he wanted to be a Carthusian monk – he traveled to Italy in 1908 with that purpose and entered the Farneta monastery -, but his superiors sent him back to Venezuela when “Brother Marcelo” – the name adopted by the blessed – fell ill and required prolonged treatment.

Returning to his country, about ten months later, he was received at the Santa Rosa de Lima seminary, until, fully recovered, three years later, he headed to Rome to complete his theology studies, with the idea of ​​returning to the charterhouse. Unfortunately, he fell ill again and decided to return to his homeland.

After these frustrated attempts and seeing that the doors were reopened to continue his service to the poorest as a doctor, he resumed his career as a full-time researcher and teacher. Thus he would continue, dedicated to the service of his neighbor until the last of his days.

The final day

On June 29, 1919, Dr. José Gregorio Hernández went out in an emergency to care for a sick woman. Sadly he never arrived as he was run over on the road by a young man who was driving a car. The doctor hit the ground violently and his skull hit the edge of the sidewalk. He was assisted and taken to the hospital emergency room, but little could be done, as his injuries were very serious. He received the holy oils from the hands of the hospital chaplain while the doctors limited themselves to certifying his death. He was 54 years old.

That day, Mother Candelaria de San José (1863-1940), a Venezuelan blessed, was in the same hospital, recovering from an operation. As the news of Dr. Hernández’s accident was communicated to her, she remained in prayer for him while he received the latest medical and spiritual care.

A miracle called charity

The process towards the canonization of José Gregorio Hernandez began in 1949, during the time of Pope Pius XII. Pope Saint John Paul in 1986 made public the recognition of his heroic virtues and declared him Venerable.

On January 18, 2021, Hernández’s process was reactivated after the corroboration of the miracle attributed to his intercession in which a girl who received a gunshot wound to the head – with a skull fracture and severe loss of brain mass – was recovered, without major repercussions on her intellectual or motor faculties.

Thanks to this miracle, the work of the intercessory power of the “doctor of the poor”, Pope Francis authorized his beatification, carried out on April 30, 2021, and assigned October 26 for his liturgical memory.

Canonization

Although his health was critical and he was admitted to the Gemelli Hospital, on February 25, 2025, Pope Francis approved the canonization of the “doctor of the poor.”

The ceremony took place on October 19, 2025. Saint José Gregorio Hernández, along with Saint Carmen Rendiles, became the first two saints of Venezuela.