Today, January 6, is the memorial of Saint André Bessette.
“At the end of my novitiate, my superiors showed me the door, and I stayed there for 40 years.” Thus said Brother André who, as a porter, had the job of opening the door and greeting guests.
He was born Alfred Bessette in Quebec, Canada in 1845. He was already at orphan when he reached 12: his father Isaac, a carpenter and lumberman, was killed by a falling tree while his mother Clothilde died of tuberculosis. He tried working in the US, but returned to Canada a few years later.
His kindness and prayerfulness towards people in his parish caught the attention of the parish pastor, André Provençal, who sent Alfred to the Congregation of the Holy Cross in Montreal, Canada. André Provençal wrote to the superior of the congregation, “I am sending you a saint.”
His poor health almost cost him his entrance to the congregation, but Montreal Archbishop Ignace Bourget intervened. Thus, Alfred entered the congregation as a religious brother. He took the name André, in honor of his pastor.
For over 40 years, he performed humble tasks. He served as doorkeeper of Notre Dame College, opening doors and greeting guests.
His devotion to St. Joseph was such that he entrusted the poor and the sick who came to him to the foster father of Jesus. Soon, reports of his miraculous healing spread that he became known as the “Miracle Man of Montreal.” He refused any credit given to him, attributing all these cures to St. Joseph.
When an epidemic broke out, Brother André nursed the sick. No one died. His reputation grew that he was receiving 80,000 letters and prayer requests every year.
During his life, he was able to have a chapel built in honor of St. Joseph. This chapel developed into the great basilica known as St. Joseph’s Oratory in Montreal.
He died in 1937 at age 91. During his wake, an estimated one million people braved the harsh winter to pay their respects to this holy man.
He was beatified in 1982 by Pope St. John Paul II. Pope Benedict XVI canonized him in 2010.