Four Significant Encounters of Brother Ubald Parr with Saint Brother André

In 1999, Father Mario Lachapelle, c.s.c., had the opportunity to invite Brother Ubald Parr, c.s.c., the dean of staff at the Oratory and now deceased, to give a presentation about his vocation in Holy Cross and his memories of his encounters with Brother André to the group of Associates of Holy Cross.

 

The First Encounter

I arrived at the École Normale Sainte-Croix in September 1927. Every morning, we would go to the Oratory for the 6:00 a.m. mass. It was during this time that I saw Brother André for the first time. He was attending mass at the back of the choir. After receiving communion from the celebrant’s hands, we saw him climb the steps to the altar, a small man with his belly sticking out, and then he returned to his place. He was 81 years old, and I was 16…

 

An Encounter Where I Came to Understand the Path of His Life

This second encounter took place in October 1929. I was 18 years old. I was filling in for the organist at the time, Brother Placide Vermandere, who was on vacation for a week. For the second mass, someone was supposed to come and take my place so that I could go have lunch in the dining room of the religious community at the Oratory. I arrived in the refectory and saw a large table that could seat 14 guests at once. There was only one seat available to the left of a religious sitting at the end of the table. I went to sit down and realized that my neighbor was none other than Brother André. Brother André was eating oatmeal. Without raising his head too much, he caught sight of me out of the corner of his eye. He stopped eating and attended to me. “Come on,” he said, “ring the small door at the corner and ask the sister what you would like.” I did as he suggested and returned to my place. There were no further conversations; breakfast was taken in silence that morning. Among the religious at that table, he was the only one who paid attention to me despite the silence rule: he welcomed me (interrupting his meal), listened to me (with his attentive gaze), and advised me (to go and ask for what I needed). This would be the path of his entire life: WELCOME-LISTENING-ADVICE (W-L-A). What a beautiful program for all of us!

 

A Most Fruitful Encounter

This episode took place, I believe, in 1934. I had just received a letter from my cousin Isabelle asking me to ask Saint Joseph to intercede for her. My cousin had lost her first child and had nearly lost her own life during that time; she was pregnant. She asked me to place this intention for a happy birth in the hands of Saint Joseph. At the time, I was a teacher at the Beaudet School in Ville Saint-Laurent. I went to see Brother André and presented my cousin’s case to him. Brother André, standing at a table with his eyes closed, listened to my explanation. There was a silence for a few seconds—a short silence that felt long. I wondered if he had understood… Without raising his eyes, he said to me, “It will be all right…” My visit was over. And indeed, it turned out well, as she later gave birth to 14 children.

 

A Final Encounter

It was January 5, 1937, and Brother André was at the Hospital of Saint-Laurent. In a coma, he was dying. Accompanied by a few religious, I was beside the dying man. We were reciting the prayers for the dying. Brother André lay in a hospital bed. His left arm made a slight movement up and down. He referred to it as his “communist.” At that time, there was much discussion about that doctrine, and Pope Pius XI had written about the evils of communism. In my imagination, I still see this scene: “Brother André in a white gown, with the medal of Saint Joseph around his neck.” He passed away the next day at 12:50 a.m. (00:50).