Saint José Gregorio Hernández: Secular Franciscan and Doctor of the Poor

On Sunday, October 19, 2025, Pope Leo XIV canonized seven new saints in St. Peter's Square. One of the Church's new saints is Dr. José Gregorio Hernández, a physician and Secular Franciscan (1864-1919), known as the “doctor of the poor.”

The oldest of seven children, José Gregorio Hernández Cisneros was born on October 26, 1864, in Isnotú, a small village in the state of Trujillo in the Venezuelan Andes. His mother was a housekeeper; his father sold pharmaceuticals and livestock. When he was 13, he expressed his desire to go to law school, but his mother convinced him to study medicine. He therefore went to Caracas to study: first at a prestigious academy and then at the medical school of the Universidad Central de Venezuela (UCV), where he was considered a brilliant student.

Shrine of the Child Jesus in Hernandez's birthplace, Isnotú, Venezuela.

After graduating in 1888, Dr. Hernández received a grant from the Venezuelan government to pursue studies under prominent experts in Europe, where he delved into histology, bacteriology, and pathology. Returning to Venezuela in 1893, he founded chairs in those subjects at the UCV, while practicing at a teaching hospital. He was the author of numerous scientific and medical research works as well as some literary essays.

Besides his impressive academic and professional contributions, Dr. Hernández deepened his Catholic faith, becoming a Secular Franciscan at the Capuchin church in Caracas in 1899. He attempted to study for the priesthood after that two different times, but his delicate health forced him to withdraw from the seminary.

Dr. Hernández became especially well-known for his selfless labors on behalf of the sick during the great influenza epidemic of 1918, becoming known in Caracas as the “doctor of the poor,” often buying medicines for them out of his own pocket. He met his death on June 29, 1919, accidentally struck by one of the few automobiles in Caracas at the time, when he was out obtaining drugs to treat an elderly poor woman.

Church of Nuestra Senora de la Candelaria, Caracas, the burial place of Dr. José Gregorio Hernández. This church was built in the 1700s by families who had emigrated from the Canary Islands to Venezuela. Hernández's family was one of these.

There was a tremendous outpouring at his death, and popular devotion to him in Venezuela has only increased over the years.

The feast day for Saint José Gregorio Hernández Cisneros is October 26.

Urn with the remains of Dr. José Gregorio Hernández in the La Candelaria church, Caracas. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos)

Click here to see a video about Saint José Gregorio Hernández and his canonization.

Main image: Dr. José Gregorio Hernández