Pope's envoy cancels trip to Venezuela due to coronavirus

STORY: Venezuela Virus Vatican Envoy - Pope's envoy cancels trip to Venezuela due to coronavirus

LENGTH: 01:38

FIRST RUN: 2202

RESTRICTIONS:

TYPE: Spanish/Natsound

SOURCE: ASSOCIATED PRESS

STORY NUMBER: 4323249

DATELINE: 28 April 2021 - Caracas

SHOTLIST:

RESTRICTION SUMMARY:

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Caracas - 28 April 2021

1. Interior of church where beatification mass for Jose Gregorio Hernandez will take place

2. Various of paintings by José Gregorio Hernandez at entrance of church

3. Various of Vice Postulator of the Cause of Beatification Jose Gregorio Hernandez Monsignor Tulio Ramirez (centre), General Coordinator of the National Commission for the Beatification of José Gregorio Hernández Albe Perez (left, in black top), VALE TV director (Venezuelan Catholic Church Television) María Eugenia Mosquera (right)

4. SOUNDBITE (Spanish) Monsignor Tulio Ramirez, Vice Postulator of the Cause of Beatification of Jose Gregorio Hernandez:

"This celebration will be presided over by the Apostolic Nuncio of His Holiness, His Excellency, Aldo Giordano, who will replace the presence of the Secretary of State (Cardinal Pietro Parolin), who, as you know, due to the COVID-19 situation, will not be able to come to Venezuela."

5. Perez speaking

6. SOUNDBITE (Spanish) Albe Perez, General Coordinator of the National Commission for the Beatification of José Gregorio Hernández:

"Amid such a complex moment, so uncertain, not only for Venezuela but for the world in general, as is the pandemic of COVID-19, it makes us have a haven of encounter, a haven of peace and a moment of spirituality. This ceremony will be very austere, very sober, very simple, but loaded with a lot of spirituality."

7. Paintings by José Gregorio Hernandez

8. Exteriors of church

9. Pan right of school entrance where church is located

STORYLINE:

With the austerity of a monk, a vocation to seek the good of others and a bright scientific mind, Jose Gregorio Hernández won the affection of those who called him "the doctor of the poor."

He became a religious icon after his death in 1919, and since then millions of Venezuelans have fervently asked that he be universally worshipped.

Now, the doctor, scientist, university professor and pioneer of bacteriology will be declared a saint on Friday.

The beatification ceremony will be the culmination of 72 years of efforts by the Venezuelan Catholic Church.

Initial plans called for a ceremony at a stadium, but the coronavirus pandemic has forced organisers to change venues, limit attendance to fewer than 300 people, mostly priests and nuns, and leave the rest of the Venezuelans to watch the event on television.

The pared-down event will take place in a small chapel at a Catholic school on the edge of a mountainous national park north of Venezuela's capital, Caracas.

The Vatican Secretary of State, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, had been scheduled to lead Hernández's beatification in person.

But the former ambassador of the Holy See in Venezuela on Wednesday cancelled his trip to the South American nation citing the pandemic.

Instead, Aldo Giordano, who is the Apostolic Nuncio to Venezuela, will lead the beatification, Vice Postulator of the Cause of Beatification of Jose Gregorio Hernandez Monsignor Tulio Ramirez told reporters on Wednesday.

Hernández died at the age of 54 when he was hit by one of the few cars in Venezuela in the early 20th century.

His ascent to sainthood was plagued with obstacles, but in the hearts of many Venezuelans, he already is one.

The prestigious doctor gained fame for giving free treatment and medicines to the poor.

When Pope John Paul II visited Venezuela in February 1996, he received a petition signed by 5 million people, almost one in four Venezuelans, asking that he declare Hernández a saint and make his worship official.

Hernández, born on October 26 1864, was convinced that science was one of the main ways to get the country out of misery.

He founded two research institutions and several classes at the Central University of Venezuela, the oldest and largest in the country.

Hernández, who never married, graduated as a doctor in Caracas in 1888.

He traveled to Europe to study and then to become a Catholic monk, but his fragile health did not allow him to withstand Italy's cold and humid weather.

He returned to Venezuela to recover and stayed permanently.

On June 29 1919, he was killed while crossing a street shortly after picking up some medicines at a pharmacy to take them to a very poor old woman.

An estimated 20,000 people participated in his funeral procession, about a quarter of the population of Caracas at the time.

In 1986, the Vatican declared Hernández "venerable," which means that he led an exemplary Christian life.

But to achieve sanctity, teams of doctors, theologians and cardinals must approve two miracles attributed to him.

The case that prompted the beatification was that of the girl Yaxury Solorzano, who was seriously injured after being shot in the head and managed to recover completely in a miracle attributed to Hernández, the Archdiocese of Caracas reported then.

Pope Francis signed the decree for the beatification in June 2020.

The beatification comes at a time when most Venezuelans struggle to feed their families as a result, among other factors, of the increase in food prices in a scenario of hyperinflation.

A total of 9.3 million people - about a third of the population - suffer from moderate or severe food insecurity, according to a 2020 report from the United Nations World Food Program.

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