In 1888 in Caracas, he graduated as a medical doctor. He was awarded a grant to study further in Europe by the Venezuelan government. He travelled to Paris, where he studied such other fields of medicine as bacteriology, patology, microbiology and more. He returned to Venezuela equipped with the necessary knowledge and technology to emerge as a leading doctor. A devout Christian, he was also a medicine teacher from 1891 to 1916.
On June 29, 1919, Dr. Hernández was walking on a street when he was run over by a car, dying.
The legend of Dr. Hernández started growing around Venezuela when people from that country started claiming to have received miracles after praying to him. Eventually, his name reached all over Latin America and Spain. Although the Vatican has not declared him a saint officially, many people in the Spanish-speaking countries consider him to be one.
Venezuelan Catholic church officials have begun the proccess that could lead Dr. Hernández to become a saint.