Venezuela’s beloved ‘doctor of the poor’ to be beatified

A woman prays close to a painting of Jose Gregorio Hernandez (Ariana Cubillos/AP)

A man considered by millions of Venezuelans to be the “doctor of the poor” is to be beatified, a step towards sainthood in the Catholic Church.

Jose Gregorio Hernandez will be beatified on Friday during a ceremony in Venezuela’s capital. The ceremony will be the culmination of 72 years of effort by Venezuela’s Catholics.