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“This historic event, long awaited by the Venezuelan people, is
a recognition of the exemplary life and heroic virtues of a man
who dedicated his existence to alleviating human suffering and
transmitting a message of love and hope,” the Archdiocese of
Caracas said in a statement. “The Catholic Church recognizes his
life of holiness, accompanied by a universal devotion, which
today allows him to be elevated to the altar.”
Hernández was beatified in April 2021 after the church certified
a miracle in the case of a girl who completely recovered after
being shot in the head in 2017.
Hernández, born on Oct. 26, 1864, in the western Venezuela town
of Isnotu, never married and graduated as a doctor in Caracas,
Venezuela’s capital, in 1888. He was convinced that science was
one of the main ways to get the South American country out of
misery and went on to establish two research institutions as
well as teach several classes at the Central University of
Venezuela, the nation’s oldest and largest.
He traveled to Europe to study and then to become a Catholic
monk, but his fragile health was affected by Italy’s cold and
humid weather. He returned to Venezuela to recover and stayed
permanently.
On June 29, 1919, Hernández was hit by a car while crossing a
street shortly after picking up medicine at a pharmacy to take
to an impoverished woman. His death was caused when his head hit
the edge of a sidewalk. An estimated 20,000 people participated
in his funeral procession, about a quarter of the population of
Caracas at the time.
In 1986, the Vatican declared Hernández “venerable,” which means
that he led an exemplary Christian life. But to achieve
sanctity, teams of doctors, theologians and cardinals must
approve miracles attributed to him.
When Pope John Paul II, now a saint, visited Venezuela in 1996,
he received a petition signed by 5 million people — at the time,
almost one in four Venezuelans — asking him to declare Hernández
a saint.
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