Category: Brother André

On hearing the word “witness,” what first comes to mind is the idea of someone in a judicial context… “I call the next witness.” A moment of sober responsibility. It will be through this person that the light of truth will have a better chance of being accurately discovered, revealed.

Abbé Pierre said, “The greatest evil that can happen to human beings, even to little ones, is to think only of themselves. The one and only rule which leads to goodness and to happiness is to look after the weakest.”

We must go forward in life with prayer and perseverance.

May Saint Brother André be a source of inspiration and hope for each one of us during this time when we are all under the influence of the coronavirus pandemic. Brother André reminds us that there are no dilemmas or hardships which cannot be surmounted or overcome. There is always a path of hope for those who have confidence.

What we are living through with the Coronavirus, reminds us of the Spanish flu epidemic of 1918. Brother André and his contemporaries felt the weight of it heavy upon them. Today, many families are living in restlessness vulnerability, causing real upheaval in their lives.

With his friend, Saint Joseph helping, Brother André planted hope in hundreds and thousands of people who were seeking a way forward. He showed them realities that we often have a tendency to forget.

Over the years, the Counseling Office of Saint Joseph’s Oratory of Mount Royal, a space of welcome, of listening, and of compassion, has without question become a valuable service offered to people who are wounded, not necessarily physically – as was the case in the time of Brother André (1904 to 1937) — but rather psychically, psychologically, emotionally, affectively, morally, and religiously.

Brother André left few objects behind. The few pieces preserved at the Oratory Museum remind us that Brother André was a simple man. His great devotion to Saint Joseph moved large crowds in the early 20^th century. This immense faith left us a legacy: the internationally renowned sanctuary, Saint Joseph’s Oratory of Mount Royal.

Frequent reference has been made to the magnitude of the funeral that followed the death of Brother André, on January 6, 1937. For an entire week, hundreds of thousands of people came to pay their respects and attend the funeral in the burning chapel of the Oratory’s crypt. The crowd was so large that it could take up to four hours to reach the coffin. And you couldn’t linger for long in front of Brother André’s body. According to reports from that time, there were 110 visitors per minute! ¹

It was on December 27, 1870, just a few weeks after arriving at Collège Notre-Dame, that young Alfred Bessette entered the novitiate of the Congregation of the Holy Cross¹. Dressed in the Brothers’ cassock with a double cincture around his waist, Alfred took his vows of commitment before the novice master, Father Julien Gastineau, CSC. It was during this ceremony that he took the name of Brother André.

Now that summer is here, we can’t help but think of vacations, festivities, pleasure, sun and warmth. It is also a special time to begin a spiritual process of self-reflection that will open up a new place in your life.

When spring arrives, the swallows return. New plants sprout from the earth: fragile yet resilient. A gentle breeze blows through the open windows. It’s the season of renewal, of awakening, of life… and of spring cleaning! At least, that’s what we used to do to give our homes a fresh look. Before summer begins, I recommend you perform a small, practical exercise which doubles as a way to honour Saint Brother André.

Saint John Paul II initiated what would become the instauration of February 2 as the annual World Day for Consecrated Life. The date is symbolic in using the same date as the Feast of the Presentation of the Lord at the Temple.