José Gregorio Hernández, scientist and believer: a light in the darkness

Abstract

We are currently experiencing a transformation in the way of understanding religious faith, which derives from the positivist culture that began in the 19th century. In Venezuela, that culture affected the country's intellectuals, but it barely influenced the Andean religious culture, where José Gregorio Hernández was born. The article reviews the life of José Gregorio from his childhood in Isnotú, his high school and medical studies in Caracas, his sending to Paris to acquire the latest knowledge in medicine, his work in Caracas as a doctor and as a professor with great social recognition, his very emotional family relationships, his unexpected death and the fame of sanctity recently officially recognized by the Church.