Hoax – A group of Catholic volunteers from a local hospital network is reportedly asking for prayers for 5-year-old Benjamín López, diagnosed with bone cancer.
Analysis
In April 2026, social media and messaging apps saw the return of a story that typically appeals directly to the solidarity and faith of internet users. The text describes an urgent prayer request for a five-year-old child, identified as Benjamín López, who is supposedly facing a severe diagnosis of bone cancer. The message suggests the initiative started from a Catholic group linked to a local charitable hospital.
The content, circulating widely in religious groups, asks the faithful to pray an “Our Father” and share the information with at least 10 contacts. The goal is to form a chain of a thousand prayers for the boy, said to be a student at Imaculada Conceição Preschool. The text is signed by a supposed “Sister Linda” from the Carmelite Nuns, adding a tone of authority and institutional urgency to the plea. Read it:
REQUEST FROM THE CATHOLIC GROUP AT THE HOSPITAL. Today I ask for a true work of charity. Please, just one Our Father prayer for Benjamín López from Imaculada Conceição Preschool! He is 5 years old and has been diagnosed with bone cancer. You pray one Our Father and pass it to 10 more contacts so we can reach 1,000. May God reward you! If you don’t have 10 to pass it to, do it for whoever you can. Please, do not break the chain. Thank you. Request from Sister Linda, Carmelite Nuns.
Fact Check
To better understand what is behind this message, let’s answer the following points: 1) Is a hospital network asking for prayers for Benjamín López? 2) Is the story of Benjamín López having cancer real? 3) Has the same fake news circulated before on the internet?
Is a hospital network asking for prayers for Benjamín López?
There is no official record that any major hospital network or charitable health institution has issued this statement. The text displays the classic characteristics of an internet chain: it is vague, does not specify the city of the institution, contains grammatical errors, and uses an alarmist tone with explicit requests for sharing. The only “new” element in this current version is the mention of a hospital network to add a layer of local credibility to content that is already old.
Is the story of Benjamín López having cancer real?
While heart-wrenching, the story is false. There is no medical or journalistic record of a boy named Benjamín López, a student at the mentioned school, currently undergoing such treatment. When this chain originally went viral in Spanish, media outlets like the website Diario Móvil in Argentina contacted the school mentioned in 2018. The institution confirmed they had no student by that name under those health conditions. Therefore, it is a fictional character created to fuel engagement chains.
Has the same fake news circulated before on the internet?
Yes, this is a recurring digital “urban legend.” The name Benjamín López has been used in various versions of the same hoax in different countries, circulating in languages such as Spanish, English, and French. Fact-checking platforms have debunked this story in the past, noting that the message only changes superficial details—such as the institution “requesting” the prayer—while maintaining the same narrative structure and typical disinformation red flags.
Conclusion
The message circulating to ask for prayers for a boy named Benjamín López with cancer is an old chain with no factual basis, which merely gained a new mention of health institutions to try and validate itself again in 2026.
Fake news ❌
