Saint Brother André Bessette
1846 - 1937
Feastday: January 6
Brother André was born Alfred Bessette in Saint-Gregoire d'Iberville in the province of Quebec, a small city 25 miles east of Montréal. From birth, Alfred has suffered from very poor health, a disease that will haunt him all his life. A few years after his birth, the Besette family moved to Farnham. His father, Isaac Bessette, was a carpenter and lumberjack and his mother, Clothilde Foisy Bessette, was mainly involved in raising her ten children (two other children had died at a young age). The parents talk a lot about god and teach their offspring to pray to him. Every evening the rosary is prayed and Saint Joseph is invoked as a patron and example for the workers. Thus, a growing sympathy arises in the boy towards the man, chosen by God to support his own Son and his virgin Mother.
When Alfred was nine years old, his father died in an accident. Just a few years later, his mother Clotilde died of tuberculosis and was orphaned at the age of 12. He was placed in the family of his aunt (his mother's sister) Marie-Rosalie and her husband Timothée Nadeau took care of Alfred and the other children. They tried to teach him various trades, but because of the boy's fragile health, constant manual labor was constantly causing problems. André worked over the years as a farmhand, shoemaker, baker, blacksmith and factory worker. Alfred was very spiritual from childhood. He often used his little free time to pray before a crucifix. His aunt chided him for his many self-imposed austerities. She was concerned that the boy would endanger his already ill health.
In 1871, at the age of 25, he applied to join the Congregation of the Holy Cross. He was initially refused due to ill health, but he received the support of the Archbishop of Montréal, Ignace Bourget, and was accepted in 1872. Once a brother, they made him Alfred became a porter, messenger, and acolyte at Notre Dame College in Montréal, because he was sickly and could not read or write. He took his temporary first vows. He took his perpetual vows on February 2, 1874, at the age of 28. He adopted the name "Brother André. Taking vows is sometimes also called profession or clothing.
Brother André had a special veneration for Saint Joseph. Saint Joseph inspired him to recommend his sacred dedication to everyone. Once he smeared some grease from the candle for Saint Joseph on a wound of a sick person and the wound healed. This story about the miracle brother André was circulating and many sick people found their way to Notre Dame. The saddest cases ring the bell. Many claimed to have been healed by the prayers of Brother André and Saint Joseph, and they were happy that their prayers had been answered. Although Brother André was usually a mild-mannered man, he could react furiously to those who suggested that he had no healing powers. Because he wanted to dedicate all honor to Saint Joseph.
Soon the influx of the sick was such that the superior began to worry and Brother André assigned an abandoned, miserable room to receive those sick. But because the superior preferred to see that the sick shelter stop, he went to the bishop of Montreal. When the superior asked for advice, he was not told what he would like to hear. "If it comes from God, it is good. If it does not come from Him, it will not stand," read the judgment. Brother André decides to move his "practice" to the small station nearby, but cannot stay there because of the enormous number of people. He asks the bishop to be allowed to build a chapel on Mont Royal. After some hesitation, he gives permission, he can build according to what he can afford. Brother André built a chapel and afterwards a church in honor of Joseph, the Oratory of Saint Joseph of the Mont-Royal near Montréal. In 1916, 435 cases of unexplained cures are reported.
After an inexplicable miraculous healing, Brother André was beatified on May 23, 1983 by Pope John Paul II in Rome. Among the 50,000 people interested in this ceremony are 2,000 Canadians. Pope Benedict XVI has now recognized a miracle of the Canadian brother André. That opens the way to his canonization. If he is now also canonized, he will become the first saint to be born in Québec. The Archbishop of Montreal responded very satisfied to the news. The Vatican is not yet allowed to communicate about the cause of Brother André's canonization before the Pope has made a final decision.
Latest news:
Pope Benedict XVI canonized Canadian Brother André (Alfred) Bessette on Sunday, October 17, 2010. A mass of thanks was celebrated in the Olympic stadium in Montréal on the occasion of the canonization of Brother André - Alfred Bessette in the world. The celebration was attended by nearly 50,000 worshipers. Brother André of the Congregation of the Holy Cross is Québec's first saint.
The predecessor in the celebration was Cardinal Jean-Claude Turcotte. About sixty bishops were present. Among the prominent figures, Jean Charest, the prime minister of the province of Québec, was noted. Brother André was not only well marketed to Catholics but also to other Christians. His popularity was due to his great simplicity and daily received dozens of persons who entrusted him with their care and asked him to pray for them. He was canonized on October 17 by Pope Benedict XVI. The Congregation of the Holy Cross currently has more than 1,600 members and is active in 16 countries.