Caracas (Agenzia Fides) – “Last Friday in Caracas, Venezuela, José Gregorio Hernández Cisneros, lay faithful, was beatified. He was a doctor filled with science and faith: he was able to recognise the face of Christ in the sick and, like the Good Samaritan, he helped them with evangelical charity. May his example help us to care for those who suffer in body and spirit. A round of applause for the new Blessed!”
These are the words with which the Holy Father recalled yesterday, Sunday 2 May, after the Regina Caeli, the new blessed, the fourth Venezuelan. The solemn celebration took place on the morning of April 30 in the church of San Juan Bautista of La Salle School of Caracas, with few people present due to the limitations of the pandemic, which prevented the arrival of Cardinal Pietro Parolin, Secretary of State. According to information released by the Bishops’ Conference, the beatification Ceremony was presided over by Archbishop Aldo Giordano, Apostolic Nuncio in Venezuela, concelebrated by Cardinal Baltazar Porras, Archbishop of Merida and Apostolic Administrator of Caracas, and by Cardinal Jorge Urosa, Archbishop Emeritus of Caracas, and by the Archbishops and Bishops of Venezuela. Also the girl who obtained the miracle through the intercession of José Gregorio Hernández, some relatives of the new Blessed and a small group of doctors were present.
In his homily, Monsignor Giordano stressed that the great day of the beatification “has been long desired and awaited” in the midst of so many difficulties”. He added that “the approval of the beatification was a new and great manifestation of paternal affection on the part of Pope Francis, a great gift for all Venezuelans” and thanked the Holy Father “for the extraordinary message that he sent for this occasion”. “It seems providential – he added – to celebrate the beatification of a doctor in the midst of a pandemic that affects all of humanity. Let us pray intensely for the millions of victims and for all the sick caused by the virus… In the figure of José Gregorio Hernández, the Church today pays a tribute of recognition, gratitude and prayer to medical and health workers. May Blessed José Gregorio intercede so that access to vaccines can be achieved, together, without divisions, without resistance”. This beatification, stated the Apostolic Nuncio, “confirms to us that Venezuela is and will always be a land of grace, even if circumstances may seem or suggest the opposite”, and he continued: “the new Blessed is capable of uniting all his compatriots over and above the social, political and economic differences, and even ideological or religious ones. I dare to say that, perhaps at the moment, there is no other figure in Venezuela as loved and accepted by all as Dr. José Gregorio Hernández”.
Monsignor Giordano also highlighted that “Doctor José Gregorio is undoubtedly one of the greatest Venezuelans of all time, because he had a secret: his secret was his faith, his belief in God, his constant search to do the Will of God, his putting into practice the commandments, his being a disciple of Jesus Christ, his life of prayer, his love for the Eucharist. In the figure of Blessed José Gregorio one can find the great scientist, doctor, professor and at the same time, radical humility, the renunciation of arrogance and dedication to the poor”. (SL) (Agenzia Fides, 3/5/2021)
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Publish date : 2021-05-03 03:00:00
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