St, Andre Bessette

St. Andre Bessette (1845-1937)

His name was Alfred when he was born in Canada in 1845, one of 10 children. His father was a carpenter while his mother took care of the household needs and raising the children. To get a better job, his father moved the family to Quebec, but died tragically soon after he arrived to work as a lumberman, when a tree fell on him and crushed him to death. Alfred was only 9 years old, and to make matters worse, his mother died of tuberculosis 3 years later. Later on in his life, Alfred would write ‘rarely I prayed for my mother, but often I prayed to her, because she was a saint.’ Finding himself an orphan, Alfred started a series of jobs as shoemaker, baker and metal-worker, but did not know how to read or write, yet he had a great devotion to the church. He spent a lot of time praying in front of a crucifix he had in his room. When he was 20, he joined many other immigrants and moved to the USA to work in the clothing business, but returned home within a year. His parish priest noticed his holiness and sent him to the Superior of the Congregation of the Holy Cross, with a message ‘I am sending you a saint.’ He was refused because of his poor health, but in 1872, he was accepted as a brother and started his Novitiate taking the name Brother Andre. He was 28, and his duties were to be a porter and sacristan. He remained as a receptionist for 40 years at the College of Notre Dame in Quebec, washing floors, carrying firewood, cleaning lamps, and taking messages. Hundreds of people used to come to ask his advice when he was a doorkeeper. More people came to him than to other priests at the College.

Oratory of St. Joseph in Montreal

He developed a special devotion towards St. Joseph, and encouraged the people to pray to him. He had a small oil lamp near his statue at the College, and often he would anoint sick people with the oil. Many people were healed, and he even led a campaign to build a church in honor of St. Joseph and he was often called the ‘miracle-worker of Mount Royal.’ Most of the people believed in him, though others made fun of him and ridiculed him. However, the church always was there to defend him. In 1924, the Oratory of St. Joseph started its construction on the hill of Mount Royal, but Andre was not to see its completion as he died aged 91 in 1937. More than a million people passed by his casket before his funeral. He was beatified in 1982 and canonized on October 17, 2010. Every year, millions of people visit the Oratory of St Joseph, and thanks to St Andre, the devotion towards St. Joseph increased handsomely over the past few years.