ST. ANDRE BESSETTE: A HEALER AND A MAN OF PRAYER

He was a frail young man, born in 1845 in St-Grégoire-d’Iberville, Quebec, who couldn’t read or write – an orphan by the age of 12. He tried various trades without much success, including in the United States, where many went to find work in those days. He returned to Canada in 1867, the year of Confederation. On the surface, he didn’t have much to offer the world, yet his faith was strong and he was known as a prayerful person. In 1870, when he was 25, he knocked on the doors of the Holy Cross Fathers in Montreal, hoping to join their community. He brought a letter of recommendation from his pastor that read, “I am sending you a saint.”

His position at Notre-Dame College was a humble one: he answered the door. For 40 years! He was also in charge of menial tasks like laundry, cleaning and errands. But beyond these duties, he visited the sick, praying to St. Joseph for them and with them. Before long, some of those he had prayed with were cured! The word started to spread, from family to family and from community to community. So many sick people came to seek healing that some friends helped him build a small chapel in 1904 to receive the crowds, but Brother André dreamed of a larger space to honour his beloved St. Joseph. In 1924, construction began on St. Joseph’s Basilica in Montreal – it was completed in 1967, Canada’s Centennial. 

Amazingly, Brother André lived to the age of 91. Although the Basilica was not completed in 1937, the year he died, his body was brought there so people could pay their respects to this holy man, whom many called “the Miracle Man of Montreal.” Over one million people came! He is buried in the Basilica’s crypt.

In 2010, Brother André was canonized by Pope Benedict XVI, becoming the country’s first male Canadian-born saint: St. André Bessette. His feast day is January 7. He is, understandably, the patron of caregivers of the sick, but he is also a model of faith and persistence. Despite his poor health and many challenges, his devotion to St. Joseph brought healing to others and glory to God. May his example give us the courage and faith to navigate the obstacles in our own lives, to walk with the saints and to bring healing to those we meet.

St. André Bessette, pray for us!

Anne Louise Mahoney is managing editor of Novalis. She is the editor of several books, including Pocket Book of Hope, and is the author of I Am and I Hope, part of the Seeds of Faith series for young children.