Feast day: 6 January
Saint André Bessette
An illiterate, sickly Quebec porter of Holy Cross whose devotion to Saint Joseph drew thousands of cures and built the Oratory of Mount Royal.
Celebrated on 7 January in Canada.
- Born
- 9 August 1845, Saint-Grégoire d'Iberville, Quebec (Canada)
- Died
- 6 January 1937, Montreal (Canada)
- Canonization
- Beatified 23 May 1982 by John Paul II; canonized 17 October 2010 by Pope Benedict XVI.
- Religious order
- Congregation of Holy Cross
- Country
- Canada
Biography
Orphan and labourer
Alfred Bessette was orphaned at twelve, never learned to read fluently, and worked as a farmhand, shoemaker and mill worker in New England. Accepted with hesitation by the Congregation of Holy Cross in 1870 — 'If this young man becomes unable to work, at least he will be able to pray' — he was made porter of Notre-Dame College in Montreal.
The porter and the sick
For forty years he received visitors at the door. He anointed the sick with oil from the lamp before the statue of Saint Joseph and with a medal, always insisting that Saint Joseph and God, not he, gave the cures. Thousands of healings were reported; crutches were left in piles at the college.
The Oratory
From 1904 he collected small offerings to build a chapel on Mount Royal, which grew into Saint Joseph's Oratory, the largest shrine to Saint Joseph in the world. He died at ninety-one; about a million people filed past his coffin in a Montreal winter.
Timeline
- 1845 — Born in Quebec
- 1870 — Enters the Congregation of Holy Cross
- 1904 — First chapel on Mount Royal
- 1937 — Dies in Montreal on 6 January
- 2010 — Canonized by Benedict XVI
Dates marked ~ are traditional or debated among historians.
Symbols
Keys and doorway — His humble office as porter.
Oil lamp of Saint Joseph — The oil he used in praying for the sick.
Crutches — The cures attributed to his intercession.
Virtues & spiritual lessons
Humility that hid behind Saint Joseph, patience with endless crowds, and confidence in prayer despite illiteracy and poor health.
Importance in the Church
The first Holy Cross religious canonized and the great modern apostle of devotion to Saint Joseph, proof that God works through the least educated of his servants.
Miracles
Church authorities documented an extraordinary number of reported cures at his door; two were formally approved for his beatification and canonization. He always refused any credit, attributing them to Saint Joseph.
Quotes
“It is with the smallest brushes that the artist paints the most exquisitely beautiful pictures.”
Attributed sayings of Brother André
“I am nothing — only a tool in the hands of Providence, a lowly instrument at the service of Saint Joseph.”
Recorded reply to those thanking him for cures
Prayers
Prayer to Saint André Bessette
Saint André, humble porter, you opened the door to the poor and the sick and pointed them to Saint Joseph. Open for us the door of trust in God, heal what is broken in our bodies and hearts, and teach us to serve without seeking praise. Amen.
Prayer used at Saint Joseph's Oratory, Montreal.
Places
Saint Joseph's Oratory of Mount Royal, Montreal — The basilica born of his devotion; his heart is kept there.
Notre-Dame College, Côte-des-Neiges — Where he served as porter for forty years.
Related saints
Entries are drawn from the Roman Martyrology, the General Roman Calendar, canonization records of the Holy See, and the saints' own writings. Where a date, quotation or attribution is uncertain, it is marked as such. (63 saints)