Pilgrims often question the devotion of Brother André to Saint Joseph. Where did it come from? Did it manifest in the youth of Alfred Bessette? Was it a devotion specific to the Congregation of Holy Cross? How did it come to take on such significance? How did he live it on a daily basis?
Le frère André dans les années 1920. Une statue de saint Joseph trône bien en vue derrière lui. Photographe non identifié. Archives OSJ (5-37)
To answer some of these questions, we can turn to serious studies on the history of devotion to Saint Joseph around the world and through time. At Saint Joseph’s Oratory of Mount Royal, the leading expert on the subject was undoubtedly Father Roland Gauthier, C.S.C. He was the founder of a French-language theological journal dedicated to the study of Saint Joseph, Les Cahiers de Joséphologie (published from 1953 to 1995).
We are pleased to offer you two articles from Les Cahiers de Joséphologie that address Brother André’s devotion to Saint Joseph. Although the texts are demanding due to their rigor, we are confident they will be a rewarding discovery for the persevering reader.
“Devotion to Saint Joseph in Brother André’s Spiritual Life” (1975) by Henri-Paul Bergeron, C.S.C. (1911-1987).
Le père Henri-Paul Bergeron, c.s.c. dans les années 1940. Photographe non identifié. Archives OSJ (211.14-2)
The first official biographer following Brother André’s death, his work was published in 1938 and saw no fewer than 11 reprints, not to mention numerous translations. Father Bergeron was a privileged witness “to the last days and even the last moments of Brother André […] the one whom everyone revered as a saint.”
“Devotion to Saint Joseph in Brother André Before the Foundation of the Oratory of Mount Royal” (1979) by Father Roland Gauthier, C.S.C. (1915-2005).
Le père Roland Gauthier, c.s.c.. dans les années 1950. Photographe non identifié. Archives OSJ (211.107-7)
Rector of the Oratory from 1956 to 1962, Father Gauthier is first and foremost the founder of the Center for the Study and Research on Saint Joseph. A remarkable intellectual and historian, Father Gauthier dedicated much of his life and energy to gathering all theological, historical, and liturgical knowledge about Saint Joseph.
Documents in french only
