Francisco expressed his opposition to any “intervention …

Pope Francis spoke out Thursday against any “outside intervention” in Venezuela in a video message sent on the occasion of the doctor’s beatification José Gregorio Hernández, in which he also asked Venezuelans “reconciliation” and “unity”.

“I ask that, among all of us, we recover this Venezuela in which everyone knows they fit, in which everyone can find a future. And I ask the Lord that no external intervention prevents them from following this path of national unity ”, the Argentine pontiff.

The message of the Latin American Pope, very sensitive to the problems of his region, comes at a difficult time due to the tensions with Colombia and clashes with irregular groups on the border between the two countries.

The Venezuelan authorities yesterday renewed their complaints against the Colombian president, Ivan Duque, which Caracas accuses of supporting the United States government in its alleged plans to overthrow the president Nicolas maduro.

In his message, the text of which in Spanish was published by the Vatican press office, the Pope recalls the figure of the new blessed José Gregorio Hernández, known throughout most of Latin America, for having dedicated his life as a doctor to the poor and the sick.

The so-called “doctor of the poor”, revered as a saint in Venezuela, will be beatified tomorrow in Caracas in a small ceremony due to the coronavirus pandemic. Hernández is one of the identity figures of the South American nation, and many faithful of the Catholic Church have attributed miracles to him after making promises or making requests before health problems or other problems.

He was born on October 26, 1864 in the town of Isnotú, in the state of Trujillo. With parents of Canarian and Colombian descent, he revealed his intention to study law early on, but then refused to turn to medicine. In 1888 he obtained his medical degree from the Central University of Venezuela and later he expanded his training to Paris, where he studied microbiology, normal and pathological histology, bacteriology, pathology, embryology, experimental physiology, histology and pathological anatomy.

According to the Documentation Center of the Canary Islands and America (Cedocam), on his return to his country, Hernández presented the telescope, held the chairs of histology and bacteriology at the Central University of Venezuela and helped to the installation of the experimental physiology laboratory.

A fervent Catholic, he fought the Spanish flu in 1918 and was recognized for his charity, his solidarity with the most disadvantaged and the poorest, his generosity and his righteousness. He died in Caracas in 1919, following an accident which resulted in a fractured skull.

The miracle approved by the Church for her beatification is the case of a 10-year-old girl, Yaxury Solorzano. When she and her father were assaulted by criminals in the village of Mangas Coveras, in the state of Guárico, the little girl was shot in the head which seriously injured her.

The minor could not be operated on until 50 hours after the injury, and in doing so she lost brain mass. With reserved forecasts, it was estimated that he would end up with a severe handicap. But in the face of the events, her mother asked for Hernández’s intercession, and four days after the operation, the girl began to react well. About 20 days were enough to be in perfect health.

“I pray, dear brothers and sisters, that the new blessed inspire, in particular, all leaders, all: unions, academics, politicians, businesses, religious, all, university students and others, to work seriously for the realization of an operational unit, “the Pope said.”Let us seek the path of national unity, and that for the good of Venezuela, ”he added.

In his message, Francisco reiterates that “the beatification of Dr. Hernández is a special blessing from God for Venezuela, and invites us to convert towards greater solidarity with one another, to produce among all the response of the common good so necessary for the country to revive itself, to be reborn after the pandemic, in a spirit of reconciliation “.

Francisco has repeatedly stated that he wishes to visit Venezuela, recalled the “prolonged sentences and anguish” of this country, now exacerbated by the coronavirus pandemic, as well as “all those who left the country in search of better living conditions”, to refer at millions of Venezuelans who have emigrated to other countries.

“I sincerely believe that this moment of national unity, around the figure of the people’s doctor, represents a singular hour for Venezuela, and demands that you go further, that take concrete steps for unity, without being overcome by discouragement, ”he concluded.