Saint Brother André Bessette was a humble, little-educated boy’s school porter and doorman who became associated with countless miraculous cures and the construction of a massive shrine to Saint Joseph in Montreal.
He had a strong devotion to both the Passion of Christ and to Saint Joseph. In private he reportedly would pray the Stations of the Cross with great fervor.
More publicly he focused untiringly on spreading and encouraging devotion to Saint Joseph, including in connection with countless miraculous cures worked among the multitudes who came to him for help.
Links & Resources
Saint Brother André Bessette, C.S.C. – Congretation of Holy Cross
Saint Brother André Bessette – Diocese of Montreal
Saint Brother André Bessette – EWTN
Saint Joseph’s Oratory – home page (English)
Saint André Bessette – AmericanCatholic.org (Franciscans)
Happy First Feast Day! – Holy Cross Vocations U.S. Province
Born Alfred Bessette in the 1840’s, he was a frail infant not expected to live long. When his father died when Alfred was still small, the ten children in the family were scattered among relatives, yet Alfred was left with his mother, also in poor health, since neither were expected to live long, and it was felt that they could at least have each other in their limited time on earth. While his mother did pass on within several years, Alfred would live into the 1930’s.
After spending his teens and early twenties mostly as a workman, and becoming known for his devotion to God and love of church, he later entered the Holy Cross Order as a brother. While there was concern about his frail health, the Order felt that, at the very least, if he became unable to work he still could pray for them.
Based at a boy’s school in Montreal, Saint Brother Andre became a full-time doorman and scrubber of floors, full-time contemplative praying long into the night and, eventually, a full-time miracle-working Catholic faith healer. It was after roughly seven years that the miracles began.
He would encourage those coming to him for cures to pray a novena to Saint Joseph and use a Saint Joseph medal.
The owner of the land initially refused to sell yet eventually did. At first, the only devotion to Saint Joseph on the hill, Mount Royal, was Saint Brother Andre clearing paths, and setting up a small statue of Saint Joseph on a ledge on the side of a big rocky. Later, a small chapel was built, Saint Joseph’s Oratory. Eventually an enormous shrine was built, yet it still bears the name Saint Joseph’s Oratory. Like Saint Joseph, it retains a sense of humility amidst greatness.
