Alfred Bessette was born in Saint-Grégoire-d’Iberville, Québec, on August 9, 1845--the eighth of 12 children. He lost both his father and his mother by the age of 12. He and his siblings were then split up among relatives and friends. It may have been this lack of an earthly family that sparked his great and constant devotion to the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph. He went on to look for employment, first on the farms and in the workshops of Québec and then in the textile mills of New England, but constant illness prevented him from holding any job for very long.

When Alfred returned to his hometown, the parish priest, Fr. André Provençal, took note of his great piety. Although both sickly and uneducated--and, therefore, not an ideal candidate to enter an order of teachers--the priest presented him to the Congregation of Holy Cross in Montréal stating, “I am sending you a saint.” Initially rejected, the Archbishop of Montréal intervened on his behalf. On December 27, 1870, he was accepted as a novice and took the name André in honor of his parish priest. He made his final vows on February 2, 1874.

Br. André was given the most humble tasks to perform at Notre-Dame College on Mount Royal: sacristan, laundry worker, barber for the students, and--mostly notably--porter. His work as the doorkeeper at the school brought him into contact with many people. His particular compassion toward the sick began to be noticed. He would recommend them to the prayers of St. Joseph, anointing them with oil from a lamp that burned before a statue of the saint, and rubbing them with medals imprinted with his image. Claims of miraculous healings steadily increased, as did the number of people coming to see Br. André. “People who suffer,” he would say, “have something to offer to God. When they succeed in enduring their suffering, that is a daily miracle.”

When Br. André began to dream of building an oratory in honor of St. Joseph on the slope of Mount Royal, across the street from Notre-Dame, the Congregation of Holy Cross did not yet own the property, and many of its members opposed his work. In faith he persisted, and on October 19, 1904, the first small chapel was dedicated, having been built with funds he had earned one nickel at a time by cutting the boys’ hair at the College. On August 31, 1924, the cornerstone was laid for the future basilica church of St. Joseph’s Oratory, the original small chapel having already been enlarged and outgrown several times. When work on the basilica came to a halt due to the Great Depression, Br. André simply said, “Place a statue of St. Joseph in the middle of the building; if he wants a roof over his head, he’ll see that one is provided.” It was not long before construction resumed. (Work on the oratory was only completed in 1967, 30 years after Br. André’s death.)

Br. André constantly received visitors at St. Joseph’s Oratory, many of them chronically ill, but also traveled extensively in Canada and the northeastern United States. He is known to have visited Malone on several occasions in the late 1920’s and early 1930’s, staying with cousins (the Moses Bessette family) on East Main Street. According to family tradition, his first concern upon arriving was to know the time of the earliest Mass the next morning; as a result, he could be seen walking to the 6:00am Mass at Notre Dame Church. A number of local families have passed on fond stories and physical souvenirs of his visits.

At the age of ninety, Br. André died on January 6, 1937, and was buried in the Oratory he had founded. More than a million people are believed to have taken part in his funeral. Miracles continued to occur at his tomb. He was beatified by Pope St. John Paul II on May 23, 1982, and canonized by Pope Benedict XVI on October 17, 2012. His memorial is observed each year on January 6 in the United States (on January 7 in Canada).

St. André Bessette is a fitting patron for the Catholics of Malone, not only because he visited our community, but because he has a link with each of the patrons of the four original parishes: he worked for many long years as the doorman at Notre Dame College; his deep devotion was to St. Joseph, in whose honor he built the oratory; he was a member of the Congregation of Holy Cross-- the true Cross having been recovered by St. Helen; and he was particularly concerned in his labors about children and the poor, as was St. John Bosco.

Br. André spent his entire life talking to God about other people and talking to other people about God. “I am nothing,” he would say, “only a tool in the hands of Providence.” Far more numerous than the miraculous cures worked at his hands were the souls he drew closer to the Lord. Imitating his humble example, we continue to open doors for others to encounter Jesus Christ.

Prayer to
St. André Bessette

Saint Brother André,
we celebrate your presence among us.
Your loving friendship with Jesus, Mary, and Joseph
makes you a powerful intercessor with the Father.

Compassion carries your words straight to God’s heart,
and your prayers are answered
and bring comfort and healing.
Through you, from our lips to God’s ear,
our supplications are heard.

We ask to be made a part of God’s work, alongside you,
in the spirit of prayer, compassion and humility.

Saint André Bessette, pray for us.