MEMORIAL OF SAINT ANDRÉ BESSETTE, RELIGIOUS: Today, we celebrate the Memorial of Saint André Bessette (celebrated January 7th in Canada).
SAINT ANDRÉ BESSETTE, RELIGIOUS: St. André Bessette (1845–1937), a French Canadian is known as the “Miracle Man of Montreal”. Brother André was born Alfred Bessette to a poor Quebec family, a French Canadian couple near Montreal in 1845. He was the eighth of twelve children. He was weak and sickly from his birth. His father died in a work (Lumber) accident when he was nine and his mother died three years later. His large family was split up after the death of both parents and he was adopted at twelve, he became a farmhand. The future Bro. André, barely literate and physically weak from birth, moved from job to job for years. Various trades followed: shoemaker, baker, blacksmith-all failures. He was a factory worker in the United States during the boom times of the Civil War. Returning to Canada, in 1870 he presented himself as a candidate for the novitiate of the Congregation of Holy Cross in Montreal as a Brother. He came to the Brothers of the Holy Cross with a note from his pastor saying “I am sending you a saint”. The Brothers are a teaching order and Andre at age 25, still could not read or write because of poor health as a child, St. André had been unable to attend school regularly and could not read or write and had stomach problems (that he had for his whole life). They did not wish to accept him due to his sickness, but at the request of the Bishop of Montreal, he was ordained a consecrated religious Brother, and assigned a very humble job. He was assigned a position as doorkeeper/porter at Notre-Dame College in Montreal (A position he had for 40 years, perfect for praying with the people). Here daily he performed the tasks of infirmarian, janitor – washing floors and windows, cleaning lamps, carrying firewood, lamplighter, gardener, barber, and working as a messenger. His piety and willingness to help others charmed the students and their parents. He remained in that capacity for over forty years. Bro. André use to say, “When I joined this community, the superiors showed me the door, and I remained forty years.” “It is with the smallest brushes that the artists paint the most beautiful pictures.”
Bro. André also developed a great devotion and expressed a saint’s faith by a lifelong devotion to Saint Joseph and the poor and afflicted. He welcomed and prayed for the sick and heartbroken, inviting them to pray to St. Joseph. People flocked to his cell to ask his opinion and his prayers for some favor or some cure, and he complied, while entrusting all to St. Joseph, the Spouse of the Virgin Mother of God and foster-father of the Divine Infant. When an epidemic of sickness broke out, St. Andre demonstrated the gift of healing. He gave all the credit to St. Joseph, whom he had a great devotion. Over the years, when word of his sanctity spread, tens of thousands of people came to St. André Bessette for prayer and healing. He worked all day to receive them in person or answer their letters. His reputation grew as people reported that their prayers had been answered. He received visitors regularly for twenty-five years. In time, out of devotion to St. Joseph, he was able to build a chapel with help from friends and money he earned from giving haircuts to students. In 1904, he started building the St. Joseph Oratory in Montreal with nickels and dimes he had collected. It was completed in 1955 as a basilica. When his Order wanted to purchase land on Mt. Royal, St. André Bessette buried St. Joseph medals on the property. The owners yielded, the land was sold to the Order, and St. André worked to have a chapel dedicated to St. Joseph built on the property. It is still in use to this day. Larger versions of the chapel were constructed as more and more pilgrims came. Bro. André died on January 6, 1937 at the age of ninety one and he is buried at the Oratory. Over a million people attended his wake and burial. After his death, the shrine grew into the great basilica known as St. Joseph’s Oratory in Montreal, which is visited by pilgrims from all over the world. Bishop Pierre Morissette of Saint-Jérôme, on Feb. 19, 2010, said “Brother André lived his life with great humility.” “Guided by a deep faith and devotion to St. Joseph, he dedicated his life to praying, serving the poor, welcoming strangers, healing the sick and comforting the suffering,” the bishop commented. St. André was beatified in 1982 by Pope John II and canonized on October 17, 2010, by Pope Benedict XVI in Saint Peter’s Square. Millions of people were and still are, cured through his prayers and the intercession of St. Joseph. Today Saint André Bessette is known as the “Miracle Man of Montreal”. St. André Bessette’s feast day is January 6th.
PRAYER: O God, friend of the humble, You inspired Brother Andre with great devotion to St. Joseph and singular dedication to the poor and afflicted. Grant us, through his intercession, to follow his example of prayer and charity, so that with him we may attain the splendor of Your glory. Amen🙏