Montreal's Brother Andre One Step Closer to Sainthood

Today it seems, the words of the curé are that much closer to being fulfilled. The Theological Commission for the Causes of Saints agreed unanimously Saturday that they accepted the healing powers of the humble porter, whose faith has touched people across time and space.

When I was a girl my parents took me for the first time to the incredible monument this lowly, illiterate man made possible. I knew about three words of French then, and I had not been raised Catholic although this was my father's religion. I didn't really understand much about this place, except that it was big.

I mean, really big!

If you came up the front steps into the crypt church, it was rather overwhelming. But coming through the side entrance was different. The Votive Chapel is quiet and just a little dark if you're coming in out of the bright sunshine.

The smell of beeswax from the 10,000 vigil lamps is unmistakable. The light is muted, thousands of flames dancing in coloured glass jars on either side of the hall. Each one represents a wish, a fervent prayer sent not only to Saint Joseph, but also to the Blessed Brother André whose canonization the faithful await.

All along the walls hang braces and crutches abandoned by those who came to pray for a cure and found it. These are a reminder of the miracles accepted by Pope John Paul II when he beatified Brother André in 1982.

The feeling in the Votive Chapel is intimate, something not expected from a sanctuary that can seat upwards of 3,000 people between its Crypt Church and Basilica. Intimacy is one of the things Brother André wanted people to feel when they came to Saint Joseph's. Despite all the people who insisted he had performed miracles, he staunchly refused to accept credit. He was only the instrument of God, and he wanted to bring people closer to God.

Brother André: A Simple Man

Brother André, born Alfred Bessette in the town of Saint-Gregoire, was one of twelve children. He was so frail at birth that his parents were said to have baptized him on the spot, fearing he would not live. His poor health plagued him all of his life, and was perhaps the thing that allowed him to empathize with all of the faithful who came to pray for cures.

Alfred was functionally illiterate when he entered the Order of the Holy Cross. The brothers felt that perhaps he had come not seeking a vocation, but because he was unable to do any other job. Not well enough to labour, not well enough educated to become an academic or a scholar, he was given the job of doorkeeper at the Notre-Dame College. There he remained for 40 years.

If Brother André is canonized, he will be the first male saint from Quebec. Marie Marguerite d'Youville, the founder of the Grey Nuns, is the first female saint born on Quebec soil.

Sources:

"André Bessette" Wikipedia

"History, mission and spirituality" Saint Joseph's Oratory of Mount-Royal

"Montreal's Brother André nearer to sainthood" Cheryl Cornacchia (The Gazette)