During the General Audience, Pope Francis dedicated his weekly catechesis to a Venezuelan doctor: Blessed José Gregorio Hernández.
The Pope used the life of this layman, also known as the “Doctor of the Poor,” as an example of evangelization in everyday life.
SUMMARY OF THE POPE'S CATECHESIS IN ENGLISH:
Dear brothers and sisters,
In our continuing catechesis on apostolic zeal, we have been reflecting on the spread of the Gospel through the witness of men and women of every time and place. Today we turn to Latin America and the example of Blessed José Gregorio Hernández.
Born in Venezuela in 1864, José Gregorio was unable to pursue studies for the priesthood for reasons of health. Accepting this as God’s will, he studied medicine and devoted his life to the care of those in need. Because of his deep devotion to Christ, expressed in charitable service to the least of our brothers and sisters, he became known as the “doctor of the poor”. His apostolic zeal was born of a personal experience of God’s mercy and daily union with the Lord in Holy Mass and personal prayer. At the outbreak of the First World War, he offered himself as a sacrificial victim in union with Christ, interceding for the dawn of peace, and died shortly after learning of the end of the war. The life of Blessed José Gregorio Hernández can inspire us, in the concrete circumstances of our own lives, to draw closer to the Lord in prayer, to serve him in the poor, and to work for the spread of his Gospel and the growth of his Kingdom of holiness, justice and peace.
I extend a warm welcome to the English-speaking pilgrims and visitors taking part in today’s Audience, especially the groups from England, Scotland, the Netherlands, Senegal, Korea, Malaysia, the Philippines and the United States of America. Upon you and your families I invoke the joy and peace of our Lord Jesus Christ. God bless you all!