José Olallo Valdés

In April 1835, the young Brother José Olallo was sent to Puerto Príncipe (today Camagüey) to join the community of the Saint John of God hospital. He would spend the rest of his life—fifty-four years—in the exclusive service of the sick and the poor. Appointed head nurse in 1845, then superior in 1856, he maintained the hospital's activity despite the suppression of religious orders by the Spanish liberal governments. After the death of his last companion in 1876, he assumed the burden of the hospital alone for thirteen years. During the Ten Years' War (1868-1878), he treated all the wounded without distinction, protected slaves, and prevented a massacre of civilians. He also taught reading, writing, and the catechism to poor children. Nicknamed the "Father of the Poor," he died of an abdominal aortic aneurysm on March 7, 1889.

The reputation for holiness of José Olallo Valdés, already immense during his lifetime, grew even further after his death. The people of Camagüey erected a mausoleum for him through public subscription and continue to visit his tomb to seek his intercession. The process for his beatification was officially opened at the diocesan level in Camagüey in March 1990, on the occasion of the centenary of his death. On December 16, 2006, Pope Benedict XVI recognized the heroic nature of his virtues and declared him venerable.

The miracle required for his beatification was approved by a decree from Pope Benedict XVI on March 15, 2008. It concerns the scientifically inexplicable healing of a three-year-old girl, Daniela Cabrera Ramos, who was suffering from a stage III Burkitt-type non-Hodgkin abdominal lymphoma. The beatification ceremony was celebrated on November 29, 2008, in the Plaza de la Caridad in Camagüey, Cuba. It was presided over by Cardinal José Saraiva Martins, Prefect Emeritus of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints, acting as delegate for Pope Benedict XVI. José Olallo Valdés is the first blessed to be beatified on Cuban soil.

The spirituality of Blessed José Olallo Valdés is deeply rooted in the charism of hospitality inherited from Saint John of God. For him, the service of the sick and the destitute was a direct encounter with the suffering Christ. His life was characterized by radical humility, filial obedience, and unalterable gentleness, even in the face of outrages or ingratitude. His legacy remains alive in Cuba, where he is considered a model of Christian humanism, national reconciliation, and professional dedication for healthcare personnel.