The mysteries of Dr. Jose Gregorio Hernandez

When I was growing up, my grandma used to pray to different saints (and still today), and one of her favorites is the Dr. Jose Gregorio Hernandez. My grandma still keeps a small statue of Jose Gregorio on her room, and she actually named my uncle Jose Gregorio in honor to this saint. Each time anybody gets sick in the house, my grandma used to pray to him for the healing of the afflicted person. This is the saint that people go to pray to when there’s someone sick, and it is also revered in the medical professions. I still remember when I was 17 years old and I started pre-med school in Caracas, Venezuela, and one of my friends that had failing grades bought candles to pray to Jose Gregorio for enlighten and pass the courses, but sadly my friend still failed the courses…

Dr. Jose Gregorio Hernandez was born in 1864 in Isnotu, a small town in Trujillo state in Venezuela. His mother was a housekeeper and his father sold medications and livestock. Jose decided to go to law school when he was 13 years old, but his mother wanted him to become a doctor in medicine. When he was 14 years old, he moved to Caracas to start his studies, and he obtained a baccalaureate in philosophy. After completing high school, Jose enrolled in the Universidad Central de Venezuela (where I graduated, as well as my parents) to start med school. His professors used to describe him as a great student with good academic performance.

He completed his studies in 1988 and graduated as a medical doctor. The Venezuelan government gave him a grant to keep on his studies in Paris. In Paris, Jose studied microbiology, bacteriology, physiology and much more. When he came back to Venezuela, he became a doctor at the Jose Maria Vargas Hospital. By the way, this is a beautiful hospital that is in ruins in the present time thanks to the dictatorship that Venezuela is living in the present time. My grandmother spent 3 months at this hospital a year ago, and this was the most terrifying experience for her, my mother and myself. An abandoned hospital with no water, no medications, roaches and no water. I wonder what would Jose Gregorio think about the state of the hospital where he used to teach. I remember when I went to take care of my grandmother that there was a small chapel of Dr. Jose Gregorio, full of dead flowers and feces from dogs and cats around the building, such a sad view that I still keep on my mind. The place was also used as an open public bathroom for visitors, as my mother has just reminded me. I think Venezuelans need Jose Gregorio now more than ever before. Miracles are the only tools for the sick and ill in Venezuela.

Jose was a very religious man, and he sought priesthood two times, but his health state was fragile for the profession. In 1908 he went to Italy to study at the Monastery of Lucca, and in 1913 he enrolled at the Latin American Pio School of Rome to become a priest, but he had to return to Venezuela due to his health. Jose used to treat the poor for free and he used to buy medicines for the patients from his own pocket. Sadly in 1919, he was killed by a car in Caracas. After his death, people started to experience miracles after praying for his intercession to God. On a day like today (June 18, 2020), the Dictator president Maduro of Venezuela has informed that Dr. Jose Gregorio has being beatified, and they are only waiting for the pope’s consent, something that could happen this weekend. Jose’s remains are housed in La Candelaria Catholic church in Caracas, where I sued to go with my grandmother for mass, and then go eat pastries on the great bakeries that used to exist in the area.

The New York Times reports that the office in charge of seeking Jose Greorio’s sainthood has received more than 800 testimonials of possible miracles only counting 2019. His chapel located on the town of Isnotu receives thousands of pilgrims seeking for a miracle. The New York Times also reports the story of Mr. Melvin Andrade, who made a 9-hour drive from Caracas to his shrine due to painful surgeries after a motorcycle accident. He was not praying for a miracle; he was praying to say thank you because his spinal operation went well. His girlfriend Marvella thinks he is a saint, even if he hasn’t been beatified. Marvella explained to the New York Times how one of her relatives healed from a tumor as a miracle of Jose Gregorio.

He is a very popular saint, and his acts are mediated by rituals around the promises of faith, such as pilgrimages to the sanctuary and other payments. Some of the most common miracles that he performs occurs during the night by visiting the sick, and some report having “psychic surgeries” in their dreams. There are reports that Jose Gregorio seems to leave traces of his presence in the way of discarded surgical instruments, medical prescriptions and scars in the bodies of the afflicted.

Another interesting story is the one of Maria Elena, that in 1994 went to a spiritist that told her that the cause of her mother’s headaches could not be healed by doctors, because the cause of her pain was due to a cattle head buried in her garden. Maria Elena’s family was able to find the head, but there was more to do for her healing process. She should receive a surgery from Dr. Hose Gregorio by reproducing a sanitized hospital environment at her house before going to bed. The instructions were that she should be all dressed in white and she should be covered by white sheets as well.

The spiritist also suggested to leave surgical tools next to the bed, such as suture, a glass of water, needles and more. Elena’s family proceeded as they were advised, and Maria Elena went to sleep. She woke up only once that night, and she reported to watch a white shade vanishing. She went back to sleep and the next morning, Maria Elena and the family found that the objects were used and discarded. Maria Elena also woke up and realized that her pillow was soaked in blood, and she was feeling much better afterwards.

In the ritual of mystical surgery, the patients lie on the floor or a bed in a sanitized environment by simulating a surgery room. Usually, the spirit-surgeon wear green or white coats, caps and mouth cover and plastic gloves. The rooms have altars that include bandages, syringes, sponges and more. There seems to be two modalities for these surgeries. In one of them, the spirit-surgeon reproduce the intervention with movements without touching the body, and sometimes they can do small incisions in the area with their hands. There are other saints that can also be included for mystical surgeries, something that at the beginning seemed to be exclusive of Jose Gregorio.

The fees to pay for these procedures are usually low, and prospective patients should visit the spiritism center at least three times. The first time is for the diagnosis of the afflicted person, the second for the operation and the third for the ceremony of the symbolic removal of the stitches. One curious thing is that Jose Gregorio was not a surgeon, but he is used for the performance of this symbolic surgeries. The most recent miracle of Dr. Jose Gregorio was the healing of a 10-year-old girl in 2017. She was shot in the head due to some thieves that were stealing their parents’ motorcycle. She had a severe injury on her brain and had to wait for 4 hours to be moved to the closest hospital.

The hospital did not have any neurosurgeon at the time and they had to wait two days so the girl would have the surgery that she needs it. Miraculously she healed after the surgery without any lesion or permanent neurological damage. Her parents prayed to Dr. Jose Gregorio and they say that it was his miracle. This is the miracle that allowed the beatification of these powerful saint on a day like today. So, what do you think about this? You think that the mind is powerful enough to create miracles induced by psychological suggestion or is it a true power coming from the spirit world? I am open to hear your opinion!