José Gregorio Hernández Cisneros OFS (; 26 October 1864 – 29 June 1919) was a

Venezuela Venezuela (; ), officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, link=no, República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many islands and islets in th ...

physician A physician (American English), medical practitioner (Commonwealth English), medical doctor, or simply doctor, is a health professional who practices medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring health through th ...

. Born in Isnotú,

Trujillo State Trujillo State ( es, link=no, Estado Trujillo, ) is one of the 23 states of Venezuela. Its capital is Trujillo but the largest city is Valera. The state is divided into 20 municipalities and 93 parishes. Trujillo State covers a total surface ...

, he became a highly renowned doctor, more so after his death.Fernández Juárez, Gerardo (2004)
''Salud e interculturalidad en América Latina: perspectivas antropológicas''
Editorial Abya Yala. He was

beatified Beatification (from Latin ''beatus'', "blessed" and ''facere'', "to make”) is a recognition accorded by the Catholic Church of a deceased person's entrance into Heaven and capacity to intercede on behalf of individuals who pray in their nam ...

by the

Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

in 2021.

Early life and education

José Gregorio Hernández Cisneros was born on 26 October 1864 in Isnotú, a small village in the state of Trujillo in Venezuela. He spent the entirety of his childhood in his hometown, where his mother worked as a housekeeper and his father sold pharmaceuticals and livestock. Hernández was baptised on 30 January 1865 in the Colonial Temple of Escuque (now the Parochial Church of Niño Jesús de Escuque.) He received the sacrament of Confirmation on 6 December 1867 by Juan Bonet, Bishop of Mérida. At the age of thirteen, Hernández expressed to his parents his desire to go to law school and become a lawyer, but was convinced by his mother to pursue a career in medicine. So, in 1878, he began his long and rigorous journey from the Andes Mountain Range in Trujillo to Caracas. He enrolled in ''Colegio Villegas'', one of the country's most prestigious schools at the time, where, in 1882, he graduated with a baccalaureate in philosophy. After completing his high school education, Hernández enrolled in ''

Universidad Central de Venezuela The Central University of Venezuela (Spanish: ''Universidad Central de Venezuela''; UCV) is a public university of Venezuela located in Caracas. It is widely held to be the highest ranking institution in the country, and it also ranks 18th in ...

'' (UCV) to begin his medical studies. Throughout his six years of at UCV, he was described by his professors as a student of outstanding academic performance and conduct.

Career

In 1888 Hernández graduated as a

medical doctor A physician (American English), medical practitioner (Commonwealth English), medical doctor, or simply doctor, is a health professional who practices medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring health through th ...

at ''Universidad Central de Venezuela'', in

Caracas Caracas (, ), officially Santiago de León de Caracas, abbreviated as CCS, is the capital and largest city of Venezuela, and the center of the Metropolitan Region of Caracas (or Greater Caracas). Caracas is located along the Guaire River in the ...

. The Venezuelan government awarded him a grant to continue his studies in Europe. Hernández traveled to Paris, where he studied other fields of medicine such as:

bacteriology Bacteriology is the branch and specialty of biology that studies the morphology, ecology, genetics and biochemistry of bacteria as well as many other aspects related to them. This subdivision of microbiology involves the identification, classificat ...

pathology Pathology is the study of the causes and effects of disease or injury. The word ''pathology'' also refers to the study of disease in general, incorporating a wide range of biology research fields and medical practices. However, when used in ...

microbiology Microbiology () is the scientific study of microorganisms, those being unicellular (single cell), multicellular (cell colony), or acellular (lacking cells). Microbiology encompasses numerous sub-disciplines including virology, bacteriology, prot ...

histology Histology, also known as microscopic anatomy or microanatomy, is the branch of biology which studies the microscopic anatomy of biological tissues. Histology is the microscopic counterpart to gross anatomy, which looks at larger structures vis ...

, and

physiology Physiology (; ) is the scientific study of functions and mechanisms in a living system. As a sub-discipline of biology, physiology focuses on how organisms, organ systems, individual organs, cells, and biomolecules carry out the chemical ...

. Following his return to Venezuela, he became a leading doctor at the ''Hospital José María Vargas''. Between 1891 and 1916, Hernández dedicated himself to teaching, medicine, and religious practice. He sought priesthood on two occasions, but his fragile physical conditions would ultimately prevent him from achieving that status. He studied at the Monastery of Lucca in

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

for ten months in 1908. In 1913, he enrolled at the Latin American Pío School of Rome to continue the priestly career, but had to return to Venezuela for health reasons. Among his scientific publications are ''The Elements of Bacteriology'' (1906), ''About the Angina Pectoris of Malaric Origin'' (1909) and ''The Elements of Philosophy'' (1912). Hernández treated the poor for free and even bought them medicines with his own money. With the arrival of 1918

Spanish flu The 1918–1920 influenza pandemic, commonly known by the misnomer Spanish flu or as the Great Influenza epidemic, was an exceptionally deadly global influenza pandemic caused by the H1N1 influenza A virus. The earliest documented case was ...

in Venezuela, Hernández attended the contagious in Caracas. Hernández died in 1919, after being struck by a car. His remains are housed in ''La Candelaria'' Catholic Church in Caracas, Venezuela.

Beatification

After his death, Hernández' stature began to reach mythic proportions. People around the country started claiming to have been granted miracles after praying for his intercession to God.Dinneen, Mark (2001)
''Culture and customs of Venezuela''
Greenwood Publishing Group, pp. 32-34. At present, Hernández is commonly invoked as "José Gregorio" by both doctors and patients for healing purposes. He is also called upon for protection during overland journeys. Eventually, his name became known all over

Latin America Latin America or * french: Amérique Latine, link=no * ht, Amerik Latin, link=no * pt, América Latina, link=no, name=a, sometimes referred to as LatAm is a large cultural region in the Americas where Romance languages — languages derived f ...

and

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

. In 1949, Venezuelan

officials began the process of determining whether or not Hernández was eligible for sainthood. The

Vatican Vatican may refer to: Vatican City, the city-state ruled by the pope in Rome, including St. Peter's Basilica, Sistine Chapel, Vatican Museum The Holy See * The Holy See, the governing body of the Catholic Church and sovereign entity recognized ...

granted him the title of ''

Venerable The Venerable (''venerabilis'' in Latin) is a style, a title, or an epithet which is used in some Western Christian churches, or it is a translation of similar terms for clerics in Eastern Orthodoxy and monastics in Buddhism. Christianity Cathol ...

'' in 1985. The next step in the process for Hernández is that of beatification. In June 2020,

Pope Francis Pope Francis ( la, Franciscus; it, Francesco; es, link=, Francisco; born Jorge Mario Bergoglio, 17 December 1936) is the head of the Catholic Church. He has been the bishop of Rome and sovereign of the Vatican City State since 13 March 2013. ...

orders the beatification of Hernández, after the recovery of a girl that was shot in the head, reported as a miracle attributed to Hernández.

Legacy

He is, also, revered by Venezuela's alternative and syncretic religion the cult of

Maria Lionza Maria may refer to: People * Mary, mother of Jesus * Maria (given name), a popular given name in many languages Place names Extraterrestrial *170 Maria, a Main belt S-type asteroid discovered in 1877 *Lunar maria (plural of ''mare''), large, da ...

.Dinneen, Mark (2001)
''Culture and customs of Venezuela''
Greenwood Publishing Group, pp. 32-34. Historian Steven Palmer also has drawn parallels between the Hernández cult and that of the assassinated

Costa Rica Costa Rica (, ; ; literally "Rich Coast"), officially the Republic of Costa Rica ( es, República de Costa Rica), is a country in the Central American region of North America, bordered by Nicaragua to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the no ...

n physician and politician

Ricardo Moreno Cañas Ricardo Moreno Cañas (May 8, 1890 – August 23, 1938) was an assassinated Costa Rican physician and congressman. He was killed by Beltrán Cortés, shot to death reportedly due to an unsuccessful surgery Moreno performed on him. He is a ...

.Palmer, Steven Paul (2003)
''From popular medicine to medical populism: doctors, healers, and public power in Costa Rica, 1800-1940''
Duke University Press, p. 217. A private university in

Maracaibo ) , motto = "''Muy noble y leal''"(English: "Very noble and loyal") , anthem = , image_map = , mapsize = , map_alt = ...

, Universidad Dr. José Gregorio Hernández (launched in 2003), is named for him. In 2008 he was honoured with the naming of a

Bolivarian Mission The Bolivarian missions are a series of over thirty social programs implemented under the administration of former Venezuelan president Hugo Chávez and continued by Chávez's successor, Nicolás Maduro. The programs focus on helping the most ...

, ''Misión Dr. José Gregorio Hernández'', dedicated to the health of Venezuelans with disabilities. In 2011, Hernández' birthday, 26 October, was declared a "day of national celebration". On 26 August 2014, the Catholic Bishops Conference of Venezuela called on all Catholics to attend Mass and thank God "for the life and example of this great Venezuelan, with great hope and implore the grace of his speedy beatification" on the occasion of the 150th anniversary of Hernández' birth (Sunday, 26 October 2014). Hernández is also an important folk figure and is commonly portrayed in

naïve art Naïve art is usually defined as visual art that is created by a person who lacks the formal education and training that a professional artist undergoes (in anatomy, art history, technique, perspective, ways of seeing). When this aesthetic is ...

Publications

* 1893 - ''Sobre el número de glóbulos rojos''. Gaceta Médica de

. * 1894 - ''Sobre angina de pecho de naturaleza paludosa''. Gaceta Médica de Caracas. * 1910 - ''Lecciones de bacteriología''. Gaceta Médica de Caracas. * 1910 - ''Lesiones anatomo–patológicas de la pulmonía simple o crupal''. Gaceta Médica de Caracas. * 1910 - ''De la nefritis a la fiebre amarilla''. Gaceta Médica de Caracas. * 1913 - ''Renuncia ante la Academia Nacional de Medicina''. Gaceta Médica de Caracas. * 1918 - ''Nota preliminar acerca del tratamiento de la tuberculosis por el aceite de Chaulmoogra''. Gaceta Médica de Caracas. * 1922 - ''Elementos de bacteriología''. 2.ª edición: Caracas. El Cojo. * 1959 - ''Elementos de filosofía''. 3.ª edición: Caracas. Bibliográfica Venezolana. * 1968 - ''Obras completas''. Caracas. Universidad Central de Venezuela.

References

External links

José Gregorio Hernández Biography