André Bessette
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André Bessette, also called Blessed Brother Andre, (French: Frère André, born Alfred Bessette) (9 August 1845 – 6 January 1937) was a Holy Cross Brother and a significant figure of the Roman Catholic Church among French-Canadians, credited with thousands of reported miraculous healings.
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[edit] Early life
Bessette was born in Saint-Grégoire d'Iberville, Quebec (then Canada East), a small town situated 40 kilometers east of Montreal. His was 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 ten children (two others died in infancy). When Bessette was nine years old, Isaac was killed in a lumbering accident. Clothilde died of tuberculosis just a few years later, and Bessette was orphaned at age twelve. He was sent to live with his mother's sister, Rosalie Nadeau and her husband Timothée, who attempted to establish Bessette in various trades, but the boy's fragile health (which would afflict him throughout his life) made sustained manual labor difficult.
From his earliest days, Bessette exhibited an unusually intense spirituality. He would often spend his scant free time praying before a crucifix or evangelizing his friends, and his many self-imposed penances drew the admiring rebuke of his gentle aunt, who was concerned that the boy was endangering his already poor health.
When Bessette was twenty years old, he joined many Canadians who were emigrating to the United States to work in the mills of New England. When, in 1867, the Canadian Confederation was formed, he returned to his native country.
He was given the task of doorkeeper at Notre Dame College in Côte-des-Neiges, Quebec. He fulfilled this function for some 40 years while at the same time doing innumerable odd jobs for the community.
[edit] Call to devotion
The Pastor of his parish, Fr. André Provençal, noticed the devotion and generosity of the young man. He decided to present Bessette 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, Bessette was accepted, made his temporary vows, and became known as Brother André. He made his final vows on 2 February 1874, at the age of twenty-eight.
Bessette's great confidence in Saint Joseph inspired him to recommend this saint's devotion to all those who were afflicted in various ways. Many claimed that they were cured through the prayers of Bessette and Saint Joseph, and they were grateful that their prayers had been heard. Bessette steadfastly refused to take any credit for these cures, and although usually a gentle man, he was known to become enraged at those who suggested that he possessed any healing powers. Because he wanted Saint Joseph to be honoured, in 1904 Bessette began the construction of a small chapel on the side of Mount Royal, facing the College.
Bessette's reputation grew and soon he was known as the miracle-worker of Mount Royal. He had to face the attacks and the criticism of numerous adversaries. He had the strong support, however, of the diocesan Church, and thousands of cures without apparent medical explanation made him the object of popular acclaim.
In 1924 construction of Saint Joseph's Oratory began on the side of the mountain, near Bessette's chapel.
[edit] Death and beatification
When Bessette died, a million people filed before his coffin. His heart is preserved in a monstrance in the oratory. It was stolen in March 1973, but recovered in December 1974. He was beatified by Pope John Paul II on 23 May 1982. The miracle cited in the beatification was the healing in 1958 of Giuseppe Carlo Audino, who suffered from cancer. In the dioceses of the United States, he is commemorated by an optional memorial on 6 January.
[edit] External links
| Stages of Canonization in the Roman Catholic Church |
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| Servant of God → Venerable → Blessed → Saint |
