Brother André: Montreal's Miracle Man
By Daniel F. McSheffery

Between January 6 and 12, 1937, the city of Montreal experienced the worst of Canada's cold winter weather. During these seven days, almost constantly the city was whipped by a cold wind and almost every hour saw falling snow, sleet and freezing rain. Despite this cold and miserable weather, during these seven days, the Montreal newspaper La Patrie reported that more than a million mourners converged on the spacious St. Joseph Oratory on Queen Mary Road to pay their final respects to one of Canada's most beloved sons.

They came to pay their respects not to a prime minister or other great political figure, not a star of stage or movies, not a prince of the Church or other religious leader, they came to mourn the passing of a simple, 92-year-old, Brother of the Holy Cross-the doorkeeper of the Oratory, Brother André. They came by the thousands, in spite of the horrible weather, because they believed this remarkable old man was a saint. They came because he had visited their poor, cured their sick, prayed with them in time of trial and sorrow and demonstrated for them the holiness of life that set him apart from the rest of the men of Montreal in the late 19th and early days of the 20th century.

The day of the funeral, life in Canada's largest city came to a halt. Thousands of those whom he had helped over the years realized how much he had loved them and they would not go without at least paying their last respects to one who was their dear and personal friend.

Special trains had to be scheduled to accommodate thousands of pilgrims from throughout the provinces of Canada, from New York and the six New England states. The Montreal transit system was jammed and scores of trolley cars clogged Queen Mary Road for a mile on either side of the Oratory. Newspapers from throughout Canada and the States and from the major cities of the world carried extensive stories about the death and funeral of the simple religious brother who had spent a lifetime in service to the poor, the lonely and the sick of Canada's largest city.

He became known as "Montreal's Miracle Man" and his life story was told in the feature Hollywood film Brother André. In the 60 years that have passed since his death, his cult has continued to grow and his intercession is sought by thousands throughout the Catholic world.

To this very day, if you ask someone on the streets of Montreal, "Who was this Brother André and what was so special about him?" The most common answer will be, "He performed miracles." When someone in Canada says, "I can't do that, who do you think I am, Brother André?" He really means, "I don't work miracles."

If you were to read the thousands of pages in the beatification procedure for Brother André, one fact clearly stands out that the subject of miracles fills the pages. Question #50 in the process is concerned with the subject, and the answer to that one question is as long as the other 49 questions put together. It is only fitting that the first biography of the humble brother is entitled The Miracle Man from Montreal.

He was born Alfred Bessette, in the outskirts of the city on August 9, 1845. By the time he was 12 years old, both his parents died. The young lad was raised by different relatives. He spent some time as a teenager in Providence, Rhode Island where members of his family lived. He had almost no education, not even knowing how to read and write. At the age of 15 he returned to his native city and sought to become a member of the Brothers of the Holy Cross. The brothers taught him how to read and he especially enjoyed reading the Gospels. He was often ill and never advanced very far in his studies. Referring to his own lack of book learning, he said "It is not necessary to be well educated in order to love the good God. It is sufficient to want to do so generously."

During this period he spent a great deal of time in prayer and religious devotions. He had an understanding of the value of penitential practices far beyond his years. His aunt, with whom he stayed, was upset and sometimes horrified by his practices. Despite the obvious holiness of life he demonstrated, the provincial of the Brothers of the Holy Cross at the end of the novitiate rejected him because of ill health and his lack of scholarship.

Later on in life he would say of himself, "I am ignorant. If there were anyone more ignorant, the good God would choose him in my place." Fortunately the bishop of Montreal heard about his devotion and great desire to become a religious brother. The bishop said that "If this young man becomes too sick to work, he will still be very much able to pray." He insisted that he be allowed to make his religious profession. He took the name, so familiar to millions of Catholics throughout the world, "Brother André."

Shortly after his profession he was assigned by the provincial to serve as doorkeeper at the College of Notre Dame in Montreal. He remained in this humble capacity for 40 years and in the process came to touch the lives of thousands of people in Canada and literally throughout the world. During these years the humble brother also performed a myriad of other tasks including the job of janitor, infirmarian, barber for the students, gardener and the college lamplighter. His obvious holiness of life and his willingness to serve the needs of others charmed the college students and their parents for three generations.

In his years as a religious, Brother André demonstrated to all who got to know him his special commitment to the poor and the physically afflicted and his great devotion to St. Joseph, the foster father of Jesus.

After his long day's work at the college, he spent far into the evening visiting the sick and the elderly. He developed a great rapport with those who were suffering, those who lived alone and were often too poor to provide for their most basic needs. He spoke to them about his own suffering and his poor health. He offered them counsel from his own personal experience and often told them of the value of suffering. Frequently he would say to his infirm friends, "Thank God for having visited you through your suffering. If we truly knew the value of suffering, we would ask the good God for it."

His fame spread. People from all over the city flocked to his small room in the college. They came to him seeking spiritual and physical healing. In a few years his trips to visit the sick in the city were curtailed. His concern for those who came to him for help prompted him to spend 8 to 10 hours a day receiving clients in the college. It disturbed him when his reputation as a healer spread throughout the city and beyond. To those who came to him Brother André would frequently say, "Can you bargain with the good God? The best way to be cured is to submit to the will of God."

He became so well known that the college had to assign secretaries to help him carry on correspondence with the hundreds who sought his counsel. For several decades he received 80,000 or more letters annually. He insisted on answering each one of them. His superiors tried to curtail his activities and insisted that he get more rest and take better care of his own frail health. During these busy days he continued his lifelong acts of penance and his program of fasting.

What made him so attractive to so many different kinds of people-the wealthy and poor alike-was his great sense of humility. He would never take credit for the many wonderful miracles that God worked through him. Over and over again when the sick and suffering spoke of his power of healing, he would deny his part in the cure. The humble brother would insist sincerely that "It is St. Joseph who cures, I am only his dog."

Brother André's other great passion in life was to spread throughout the whole world his own great personal devotion to his patron St. Joseph, the foster father of Jesus. It was through the intercession of St. Joseph that the humble brother restored the health of so many afflicted who sought his help. The only thing in life that angered him was when people said he had the power to heal. The fact that favors came from God, through St. Joseph, and not through him, was the most important point in his life.

One day a man came to him and said, "Whenever I ask St. Joseph, I never get anything. But when I ask you, then I get what I want." Brother André was so upset that he started to tremble and quiver and he quickly showed the man to the door. To him what the man said was blasphemy as though a miracle could be performed by human power.

During his beatification process, a total of 125 cases of healing were told by witnesses and examined by the commission. No wonder he gained the reputation of being a miracle man.

His humility would not let him be impressed by the praise of others. One day the chaplain to the King of England came to see him. The chaplain told him that the king himself had heard of his healing ministry and sent his personal greeting. Brother André listened politely and then said, "You will have to excuse me; many sick people are here today." Flattery did not impress him.

The huge crowds that were coming to him seeking his help and advice began to cause great problems at the college. His room was so small that he began to meet his clients across the street from the college in a small trolley station. In a short time this became a very unsatisfactory meeting place and Brother André dreamed of building an oratory in honor of St. Joseph. He decided that a small parcel of land owned by the college would be the site of the new building. He obtained permission but quickly was short of funds. One day a huge and talented stone mason who was very sick from a stomach tumor came to seek relief from his suffering. Brother André told him, "If St. Joseph cures you, will you come to work with me in building the oratory?" The mason reluctantly agreed. The next morning he arrived at 6 am cured and ready to work. He even encouraged his friends who also were tradesmen to help out in the project. In October of 1904, the small chapel dedicated to St. Joseph was blessed and the first Mass there was celebrated.

The chapel was very small, so tiny that it could barely hold the altar, the priests and a few altar boys. Two large doors opened on to the grass where some benches were set up. Those who attended ceremonies had to deal with the cold and snowy Canadian weather.

The chapel failed to solve the problem of lack of space for the hundreds, many of whom were sick, who sought help from Brother André. They continued to meet in the train station. Many passengers complained about so many sick people in their station. Finally after 2,000 signed a petition, the provincial gave permission to enlarge the oratory. This marked a turning point in the life of this humble brother. He was appointed "Guardian of the Oratory" and took up residence in the newly enlarged building.

With a comfortable place to pray and visit with the guardian, the pilgrims came by the thousands. More and more of them spoke more and more spontaneously of "miracles." In the year 1916 alone, there were 435 reported cases of cures-more than one a day. Countless others went unreported. The pilgrims wanted all the cures to be known so they displayed the crutches and other devices of those who had been cured in the chapel. When the provincial objected to these "trophies" of cures, Brother André said, "You know, Father, these crutches were put in the chapel only when the cure had lasted for a few weeks. You always explain that miracles are signs given by God. Well, if the Lord gives us signs, it is not for us to hide them." The "trophies" remained in the chapel.

The crowds who came to see him continued to grow-400 or 500 in a single afternoon. It was obvious to the humble brother and his associates from the order and to his many clients that a new much larger structure would have to be built. After months of study, permission was granted to hire an architect to make plans for what was to become St. Joseph Basilica-the largest shrine in honor of St. Joseph in the world.

While the construction of the huge church was underway, he continued his service to those in need. He constantly told them that they should invoke the foster father of Jesus and their prayers would be heard. He encouraged the use of a St. Joseph medal and St. Joseph oil. He encouraged the sick to say a simple prayer that brought about countless numbers of cures. He would say, "Go to Joseph and pray these words: St. Joseph, pray for me as you yourself would have prayed if you had been in my place, in the same situation. Saint Joseph, hear me!" That simple prayer was repeated thousands of times with miraculous results.

Despite all of his long hours spent visiting the sick and taking care of those who came to him seeking help, he still found time for personal prayer. His devotion to St. Joseph did not detract from adoration of the Blessed Sacrament and love for the Eucharist. He encouraged frequent Communion. He would often say to his friends, "If you ate only one meal a week would you survive? It is the same for your soul. Nourish it with the Blessed Sacrament."

His biographer and close friend Canon Etienne Catta once said that "Devotion to St. Joseph was not Brother André's predominant devotion. Indeed his main devotion was to the Passion of Our Lord Jesus Christ." Once he began to talk about the suffering of Jesus he could, and often did, go on for hours and leave his listeners in tears. Once the oratory crypt was completed, he began each Friday evening the practice of the public Stations of the Cross. Hundreds took part. When he spoke about the Passion many witnesses said it was as if he were living every detail of the Lord's suffering.

He also had great devotion to the Word of God. Although at first he was refused entrance to the order because of his lack of learning, still he memorized long passages of Sacred Scripture. He could recite from memory the Sermon on the Mount and the Passion according to St. Matthew. He spent long hours meditating on the Gospels.

Throughout his life he was frail and sickly. Despite this he worked long hours and literally saw and talked to hundreds of people in the course of a day. He was confined to the infirmary many times during his six decades as a religious brother but he remained active in the ministry until the week he died. On Christmas Day in 1936 he spent long hours in prayer. In the days that followed he continued his lifelong practice of visiting the sick. A few days later he got the flu and on New Year's Eve he was taken to the hospital.

He suffered those last days. On the evening of January 5, he said "The Great Almighty is coming." Shortly thereafter he lapsed into a coma and died early the next morning.

As often happened in the early centuries of Church history, the People of God proclaimed him a saint. Quickly the Church joined in agreement. In the remarkably short time of 45 years after his death, 30,000 pilgrims gathered in St. Peter's Square in Rome on May 23, 1982 as Pope John Paul II presided over the beatification of the humble servant of God, Brother André.

From his place in heaven, he continues to work his miracles as the people of Montreal and his friends from throughout the world continue to call upon his name. n