St. André Bessette

St. André Bessette was born Alfred Bessette on 9 August 1845 near Saint-Grégoire d'Iberville, Quebec, orphaned young and often in poor health. Frail and barely literate, he was admitted to the Congregation of Holy Cross in Montreal and assigned the humble post of doorkeeper at Notre-Dame College, a role he held for some forty years. He liked to say, "At the door I showed people out, and I have been here forty years."

A man of profound devotion to St. Joseph, he encouraged the sick who came to him to pray to the saint, and countless cures were reported through his intercession. His trust in St. Joseph inspired the building of the great Oratory of Saint Joseph on Mount Royal, one of the largest shrines in the world. He died on 6 January 1937 in Montreal, and an estimated million people passed by his coffin. Canonized in 2010, Brother André is honored as an apostle of humble service and confident prayer.