As Catholic Church Seeks Proof, Venezuela Sees a Saint

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Many pilgrims arrive daily in Isnotú, Venezuela, to pay tribute to Dr. José Gregorio Hernández at a large shrine. Credit Meridith Kohut for The New York Times

By WILLIAM NEUMAN
SEPT. 29, 2014

ISNOTÚ, Venezuela — Venezuela needs a miracle. Preferably two. But this is not about finding a way to reconcile the country’s bitterly divided politics or fix its crippled economy. It is about something more spiritual.

The Roman Catholic Church here is on a mission to document a miracle that can be attributed to one of the country’s most popular folk heroes: José Gregorio Hernández.

Born in this small town in the foothills of the Andes on Oct. 26, 1864, Dr. Hernández spent much of his life in Caracas, the capital, where he studied and practiced medicine and became known as “the doctor of the poor” because he routinely treated needy patients for free.

He died in 1919, run over by a car at a time when only a few hundred automobiles traveled the streets of Caracas. He was so beloved that newspaper accounts at the time reported that the city was left practically denuded of flowers to make the floral wreaths and bouquets for his funeral.

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/09/30/world/americas/as-catholic-church-seeks-proof-venezuela-sees-a-saint.html?_r=0