Venezuela celebrates as ‘doctor of the poor’ beatified
Venezuela celebrates as ‘doctor of the poor’ beatified. A Venezuelan doctor known for treating the poor during the Spanish flu pandemic a century ago has been beatified, a step toward sainthood in the Roman Catholic Church. José Gregorio Hernández, who was born in 1864, is revered in the country as the “doctor of the poor”. He died at the age of 54 in 1919, after being struck by a car in Caracas. The beatification comes after the Church attributed a miracle to him for saving the life of a young girl. Yaxury Solórzano survived after being shot in the head during an attempted robbery in 2017. Doctors said that, if she survived, she would be permanently disabled. But the girl, who was 10 at the time, made a full recovery and was able to walk just weeks after leaving hospital. Her mother, according to Church records, prayed to Hernández to save her. Born in the town of Isnotú in the state of Trujillo, Hernández studied in Paris, Berlin, Madrid, and New York, and became a renowned bacteriologist. He was hit by a car while crossing a street after picking up medicines at a pharmacy to take to a poor woman.