Along the path of Blessed Gregorio Cisneros: Pope Francis continues his catechesis on the witnesses to the proclamation of the Gospel

“In our catecheses, we continue to meet passionate witnesses to the proclamation of the Gospel. Let us recall that this is a series of catecheses on apostolic zeal, on the will and even the interior ardour to carry forward the Gospel. Today we go to Latin America, specifically to Venezuela, to get to know the figure of a layman, Blessed José Gregorio Hernández Cisneros”. And so, before the thousands of faithful gathered, Wednesday, Sept. 13, for the General Audience, Pope Francis resumed the cycle of catechesis on the apostolic zeal that had been interrupted due to his trip to Mongolia.

“Truly, charity was the north star that oriented the existence of Blessed José Gregorio: a good and sunny person with a cheerful disposition, he was endowed with a marked intelligence; he became a doctor, university professor, and scientist”, continued the Holy Father. “But he was first and foremost a doctor close to the weakest, so much so that he was known in his homeland as ‘the doctor of the poor’. He cared for the poor, always.” 

At the end of the catechesis, the Holy Father invited everyone: “Let us go forward along the path of Blessed [José] Gregorio: a layman, a doctor, a man of daily work whom apostolic zeal drove to live performing charity throughout his whole life”.

"The reason why the figure of Blessed Cisneros may serve as a role model for us lay people," comments Linda Ghisoni, Under-secretary of the Dicastery, "lies in his being passionate about proclaiming the Gospel in the contexts in which life placed him: in them - among the poor, the sick, the migrants and the suffering in general - Blessed José Gregorio gave himself in communion with Christ, fulfilling his mission as a Christian, with his gifts and talents, devoting time, energy and resources: his life!

As a Dicastery we are called to emphasize the value of the apostolate of the lay faithful that is made explicit not only in words, but with the gift of self every day. Pope Francis, also through his catechesis on apostolic zeal, invites us to walk this path: to pray and engage before the great social, economic and political issues of today, to promote the good and build peace and justice in truth”.

All of Pope Francis’ catechesis on the apostolic zeal of the believer