Brother Andre founder of St. Joseph's oratory.

In honour of the feast of St. Joseph, March 19

The early years

Brother Andre was born Alfred Bessette, the eighth of twelve children, on August 9, 1845, in Saint-Gregoire d'Iberville, a tiny village near Montreal. Afflicted from birth with a chronic stomach ailment, he was baptised immediately by his parents who feared he would not survive until the ritual the following day. Raised in the best tradition of French-Canadian Catholicism, he received a thorough Christian upbringing.

Most French-Canadian families cultivated the land in the middle of the nineteenth century and, like them, the Bessettes lived in impoverished circumstances. They resided in Saint-Gregoire for several years, but each year brought with it a new baby, and the father, like Saint Joseph a carpenter and a wheelwright, could eventually no longer support them by this trade. In 1849, he moved to Farnham, another small town, believing it would be easier to earn a living as a lumberman. Sadly, he was killed when he was crushed by a falling tree in the woods. Three years later, his mother died of tuberculosis; Alfred was barely an adolescent. Equipped with only a basic education, he began thirteen years of job hunting.

At the age of twenty, like many of that era, he left to seek work in New England where he laboured almost four years in the textile mills and on the farms. Throughout these experiences, his childhood devotion to Saint Joseph grew stronger. He found he had much in common with his protector, both having known exile and poverty. During his stay in the United States, he experienced a strange dream, almost a prophecy. While working in the fields, he was inspired to ask Saint Joseph, "Where shall I die?" He then had a vision of an imposing building which he had never seen before. This edifice was Notre-Dame College in Montreal; there, one day he would start his mission as the apostle of Saint Joseph.

Alfred returned to homeland in 1867. Shortly after his arrival, Father Andre Provencal, his spiritual director, introduced him to the Holy Cross Congregation. In December 1870, he entered the order as a postulant, changing his name to Andre, in honour of his mentor. He took his final vows as a Brother in August 1872.

The miracle worker

As he went about his work in the congregation, Brother Andre often got word of someone who was very ill. He would visit the person and urge him to pray to Saint Joseph to intercede for him and, more often than not, the prayer would be answered. At other times, after a few words of consolation, he would anoint the patient with oil from a lamp burning in front of the statue of Saint Joseph in the college chapel. He would then tell the person to venerate the medal of Saint Joseph, make a novena, have faith, go to confession and Holy Communion. And frequently the person would be healed. Despite earning the reputation of miracle-worker, the good brother always strongly protested, "I am nothing; ... only a tool in the hands of Providence, a lowly instrument at the service of Saint Joseph." On one occasion, a stranger said: "You are better than Saint Joseph! We obtain from you all kinds of favours, but Saint Joseph turns a deaf ear to our demands." Brother Andre was so appalled by this remark that he was stricken with a convulsion and had to be rushed to his room.

Whenever he had free time, Brother Andre loved to climb the mountain across from the college. On these occasions, he thought about his great dream of erecting a shrine in honour of Saint Joseph. For several years, the Holy Cross authorities had been trying to purchase a piece of land on Mount Royal to prevent the building of any inappropriate premises there. However, the price was always too high. Brother Andre, with several other brothers and students, then started to leave medals of Saint Joseph in the coveted ground. Suddenly, on July 22, 1896, the owners yielded and the congregation acquired the land. Shortly after the purchase, Brother Andre, accompanied by a lay friend, asked his superiors for permission to build an oratory in honour of his beloved saint, somewhere where he could receive the sick and relieve pressure on the college. The authorities refused, but gave him their approval to erect a statue of Saint Joseph on a ledge on the mountain, and to save the alms he received from the sick, along with the money he earned as a barber, for the project. At sixty years of age, Brother Andre undertook the project with great enthusiasm. Confident that he had been inspired by heaven, he talked passionately to his numerous visitors about his dream of building a house of prayer where Montrealers, pilgrims, and tourists would come to receive spiritual healing and comfort.

By 1904, he had amassed two hundred dollars and was allowed to construct a little chapel. Within a very brief period, this chapel had to be enlarged four times, in order to accommodate the increasing number of pilgrims. By 1909, another building was completed, including a religious goods store, a restaurant, a waiting room, and an office for Brother Andre who had taken up residence at the Oratory. When he was appointed guardian of the sanctuary by his superiors, the enterprise was in practice entrusted to him. Although he did not know exactly how it would develop, he kept going one step at a time. After all, God, through the intercession of Saint Joseph, was a partner in this project. He would do the rest. Brother Andre was blessed with the help of many devoted people; he had the support of his con-freres who loved him and hoped for his success

In 1916, a new crypt church able to hold at least a thousand persons was consecrated. The dream was taking shape, but the spacious Oratory was still only an illusion. "I will not see the completion of the oratory," he often remarked, "but the work will be done. It is not my project anyway," he would add; "it is Saint Joseph's." In his eighties, he helped to raise funds on several visits to the United States and throughout Canada, his presence and reputation assuring people of the worth and vitality of the venture. However, during the Great Depression in the nineteen thirties, the construction of the basilica reached an impasse. In 1936, the superiors of the Congregation of the Holy Cross called a special meeting to decide whether to complete it or abandon it. The Provincial summoned Brother Andre. The aging brother said only a few words: "This is not my work; it is the work of Saint Joseph. Put one of his statues in the middle of the building. If he wants a roof over his head, he will take care of it." Two months later, the Congregation had the necessary resources to carry on with the construction.

The legacy

At the end of a dedicated life, Brother Andre died on January 6, 1937, in his ninety-second year. For seven days, day and night, more than a million persons, from all Canadian provinces and several American states, climbed the hill to the Oratory to pay him a final homage. Touched by his ministry of compassion, all wanted to catch a final glimpse of his face or touch the hands that had healed so many. His body lies today in a tomb in the Basilica, which was inaugurated on March 19, 1955, and finally completed in 1966. It has a seating capacity of 3,000 and a standing-room capacity of 10,000.

The near-miraculous evolution of Saint Joseph's Oratory confirms that Brother Andre's project was far from frivolous. His love and concern for others have provided hope for many. He has changed the lives of thousands and encouraged all he met to share their gifts with others. To believe and to love were enough for him; love makes one inventive and brings abundant rewards. Following in his footsteps, new generations of Holy Cross Fathers, Brothers, and Sisters, assisted by lay people, ensure that his work continues. There is no shortage of projects for welcoming to the sanctuary those whom Brother Andre loved so much: the sick, the handicapped, and especially the very poor.

In 1982, John Paul II beatified Brother Andre, after ruling that the healing of an American patient, from Rochester, New York, was a miracle. A further miracle must now be proven before he receives universal recognition as a saint. Meanwhile, his greatest miracle will remain Saint Joseph's Oratory. It is because of his vision and influence that a mountain transformed itself into a magnificent shrine, visible from all parts of the city of Montreal and the surrounding countryside. People come to pray to God and honour Saint Joseph, of course, but they also make the trip to meet a man of wisdom. Brother Andre, a simple, sickly, and barely literate farm boy who made an indelible mark on Montreal's architectural and religious landscape, still touches people. He has kept the deep devotion not only of Montrealers, but also of people around the world. The walls of the votive chapel, where pilgrims light candles, are lined with the canes and crutches of those claiming to having been cured through him. At his tomb, people from all continents have signed books in support of his canonization. The number of pilgrims and visitors continues to increase. Over two million people continue to benefit annually from this Open House, the world's largest sanctuary dedicated to Saint Joseph.

The universal Church must applaud the accomplishments of this humble and obedient servant of God, so poor in possessions and health, but so rich in faith!

Editor: In recent years, many Hindus, Sikhs and Muslims have also been attracted to the quiet spaces of this great church where they come for prayer and meditation.

Sylvie Malaborsa is a bilingual writer living in Montreal. She writes for diversified markets, but specializes in religious texts. Her articles have been published in Small Business Opportunities, Long Island Woman, Canadian Messenger of the Sacred Heart, Canadian Catholic Review and Revue Ste-Anne.