St. André Bessette
Posted on January 12, 2019 by admin No comments
Born: August 9, 1845 Mont-Saint-Grégoire, Quebec, Canada
Died: January 6, 1937 (aged 91) Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Venerated: in Catholic Church (Canada and the United States, and the Congregation of Holy Cross)
Beatified: May 23, 1982, Saint Peter’s Square, Vatican City, by Pope John Paul II
Canonized: October 17, 2010, Saint Peter’s Square, Vatican City by Pope Benedict XVI
Major shrine: Saint Joseph’s Oratory Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Feast: January 6 (January 7 in Canada)
André Bessette, C.S.C. (9 August 1845 – 6 January 1937), more commonly known as Brother André (French: Frère André), and since his canonization as Saint André of Montreal, was a lay brother of the Congregation of Holy Cross and a significant figure of the Roman Catholic Church among French-Canadians, credited with thousands of reported miraculous oil healings associated with his pious devotion to Saint Joseph.
Bessette was declared venerable in 1978 and was beatified by Pope John Paul II in 1982. Pope Benedict XVI approved the decree of sainthood for Blessed André on 19 February 2010, with the formal canonization taking place on 17 October 2010.
Early life
He was born Alfred Bessette in Mont-Saint-Grégoire, Canada East (Québec), a small town situated 40 kilometres (25 mi) southeast of Montreal. Bessette was the eighth of 12 children (four of whom died in infancy). He was so frail when he was born that the curé baptized him “conditionally” the following day, completing an emergency ritual performed at his birth. He was from a working-class family; his father, Isaac Bessette, was a carpenter and lumberman, and his mother, Clothilde Foisy Bessette, saw to the education of her children. In 1849, with employment scarce and his family living in poverty, Alfred’s father decided to move to Farnham (in Quebec) where he hoped to earn a living as a lumberman. Tragically, he lost his life in an accident, crushed by a falling tree, when Alfred was only nine years old. His mother found herself widowed at the age of forty with ten children in her care. She died of tuberculosis within three years, and Alfred found himself orphaned at the age of twelve.
Call to devotion
The pastor of his parish, the Rev. André Provençal, noticed the devotion and generosity of the young man. He decided to present Alfred to the Congregation of Holy Cross in Montreal, writing a note to the superior, “I’m sending you a saint.” Although he was initially rejected by the order because of frail health, Archbishop Ignace Bourget of Montreal intervened on his behalf, and in 1872, Alfred was accepted, and entered the novitiate of the congregation, receiving the religious name of Brother André, by which he was known for the rest of his life. He made his final vows on February 2, 1874, at the age of 28.
André was given the task of porter at Notre Dame College in Côte-des-Neiges, Quebec, with additional duties as sacristan, laundry worker and messenger. “When I joined this community, the superiors showed me the door, and I remained 40 years,” he said.
His great confidence in Saint Joseph inspired him to recommend the saint’s devotion to all those who were afflicted. On his many visits to the sick in their homes, he would rub the sick person lightly with oil taken from a lamp burning in the college chapel and recommend them in prayer to Saint Joseph. People claimed that they had been cured through the prayers of the good Brother and Saint Joseph, and they were grateful their prayers had been heard. Brother André steadfastly refused to take any credit for these cures. Bessette’s desire to see Saint Joseph honoured led him in 1904 to launch a campaign to build a chapel for that purpose.
When an epidemic broke out at a nearby college, André volunteered to nurse. Not one person died. The trickle of sick people to his door became a flood. His superiors were uneasy; diocesan authorities were suspicious; doctors called him a quack. “I do not cure,” he said again and again. “Saint Joseph cures.” In the end he needed four secretaries to handle the 80,000 letters he received each year.
As tensions increased at the College with so many of the sick coming to see the porter, the school officials decided that Brother André could no longer continue with his ministry. He was permitted to receive the sick in the nearby tramway station rather than the College. As his reputation spread, Brother André became quite a controversial figure. There were many religious in the Congregation of Holy Cross, teachers and parents of students at the College who supported him but many others opposed him and even considered him dangerous to the well-being of the school’s reputation because they regarded him as a charlatan. Others were concerned for the good health of the children, fearing the possibility of contagion in the school spread from diseases carried by the sick who frequented Brother André.
In 1924 construction of a basilica named Saint Joseph’s Oratory began on the side of the mountain, near Bessette’s chapel.
Death and path to canonization
Bessette died in 1937, at the age of 91. A million people filed past his coffin.
The remains of Bessette lie in the church he helped build. His body lies in a tomb built below the Oratory’s Main Chapel, except for his heart, which is preserved in a reliquary in the same Oratory. The heart was stolen in March 1973, but was recovered in December 1974 with the help of famous criminal attorney Frank Shoofey.
Brother André was beatified by Pope John Paul II on May 23, 1982. The miracle cited in support of his beatification was the healing in 1958 of Giuseppe Carlo Audino, who suffered from cancer. St. Andre is commemorated in most of the world by an optional memorial on January 6. His memorial is celebrated in Canada on January 7.
On December 19, 2009, Pope Benedict XVI promulgated a decree recognizing a second miracle at Blessed André’s intercession, and on October 17, 2010, formally declared sainthood for him. Blessed Brother André was the first saint of the Congregation of Holy Cross, the same religious order that founded the University of Notre Dame.
Prayer to St. André Bessette
Saint Brother Andre, we celebrate your presence among us. Your loving friendship with Jesus, Mary and Joseph makes you a powerful intercessor with the Holy Father. Compassion carries your words straight to God’s heart, and your prayers are answered and bring comfort and healing. Through you, from our lips to God’s ear, and supplications are heard…..We ask to be made part of God’s work, alongside you, in the spirit of prayer, compassion and humility. Saint Brother Andre, pray for us. Amen.
Prayer to St. André Bessette
Lord our God, friend of the lowly, you gave your servant, St. André Bessette, a great devotion to St. Joseph and a special commitment to the poor and afflicted. Through his intercession help us to follow his example of prayer and love and so come to share with him in your glory. (mention your intention) We ask this in the name of Jesus the Lord. Amen.
St. André Bessette, pray for us.
A Prayer for Healing to St. André Bessette
“People who suffer have something to offer to God. When they succeed in enduring their suffering, that is a daily miracle.”Bro. André, I come to you in prayer for healing.(state your need)You were no stranger to illness.
Plagued by stomach problems,you knew suffering on a daily basis,but you never lost faith in God.Thousands of people have sought your healing touch as I do today.Pray that I might be restored to health in body, soul, and mind.With St. Joseph as my loving Protector,strengthen my faith and give me peace that I might accept God’s will for me no matter the outcome. Amen.
Prayer to St. André Bessette
Saint Brother Andre, your devotion to Saint Joseph is an inspiration to us. You gave your life selflessly to bring the message of his life to others. Pray that we may learn from Saint Joseph, and from you, what it is like to care for Jesus and do his work in the world. Amen.
Prayer to St. André Bessette
Lord, you chose Brother Andréto spread devotion to Saint Joseph,and to dedicate his life to the poor and afflicted.Grant through his intercession the favour(s) that I now request…
[State your intentions…] Grant me the grace to imitate his piety and charity,so that, with him,I may share the rewards promised to all who care for their neighbours out of love for you. I make this prayer in the name of Jesus the Lord. Amen.Pray: 3x Our Father… 3x Hail Mary… 3x Glory Be…
St Bro André Bessette, Pray For Us (x3)
Prayer to St. André Bessette my brother
You knew how to pray…in the midst of your tasks, in the quiet of the night,deep in your solitude, or surrounded by friends.Teach me the words that nourish my soul.
You knew how to welcome…the rich and the powerful,the poor and the miserable,the scholar and the illiterate,especially the simple, often the wounded.Teach me to love them all without exception.
You knew how to suffer…to hope in the future,without complaint, without fear,to stand firm, to face life.Teach me the meaning of suffering in silence.
You knew how to live…or the God whom you served,for his Son and for his Son’s father and Mother,to save what is lost,to free what is shackled.Teach me to hope in God and his universe. Amen.
Prayer to St. André Bessette
Brother André, how well you understood how love for God is expressed in love for others.
Help us to accept those who are afflicted in the same way that you did. Teach us to sympathize with their suffering and their pain. Teach us to listen to them with patience and to speak a consoling word.
Let us show them how to trust in Saint Joseph, in Mary the mother of Jesus,and in God our Father. Your love of God was manifest in your plan to build a place of prayer on the mountain.
With Saint Joseph,you yourself receive all those who come to the Oratory.
Plant within them faith in God who loves them so much and who wishes wholeness for every human being.
Make them grateful for all the graces they have received and confident in the future that is theirs. Help them to make prayer a part of their life and to become people that others can rely on. Brother André, you are now with the saints in glory; you are powerful with God.
Continue the ministry you conducted when you were on earth. Obtain healing for those who are suffering in mind and body. Give serenity to those advanced in years, and gainful work for those who seek it.
Inspire the young to live good Christian lives, in marriage, in consecrated life, as ordained pastors. Teach all of us how to live as Jesus did. Amen.
Prayer to St. André Bessette for acceptance
Saint Brother André, you grant us the favour of realizing your dream and of making present in our day the heritage you left to the world. Help us to continue in the spirit of unconditional acceptance which you showed each person you met.
May our presence here, our attitudes and our words always reflect the love and compassion which marked your whole life long. Amen.
Saint Brother André, pray for us.