The Parish of St. Joseph in Bangad,
Cabanatuan City is so blessed to have the First Class Relic of St. Bro. Andre
Bessette from the Oratory of St. Joseph in Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
The certificate of authenticity
says ex tela sanguinis, meaning from the blood.We invite
everyone to come and venerate the relic of this Miracle Worker from Canada
whose devotion to St. Joseph was so great. Ite Ad Joseph. Go to St.
Joseph.
[This article was formerly titled "Blessed Brother André of Saint Joseph." With the
canonization of Frere André on October 17, 2010, we have changed the
name to something more fitting. The author is grateful that he had the grace to
be present in St. Peter's Square when the Holy Father solemnly declared his
patron a saint.]
In
the city of Montreal, Province of Quebec, Canada, on a rise of earth known as
Mount Royal, there stands a religious edifice of staggering proportions. It is
three hundred and sixty-one feet high, taller than either Saint Patrick’s
Cathedral in New York or the Cathedral of Notre Dame in Paris.
Its girth is so massive that it
could hold within itself any one of most of the world’s great shrines, including
Saint Anne de Beaupré and Saint Paul of London. The cross atop its domed roof
can be seen for miles around, guiding the millions of pilgrims who come there
each year. It is the Oratory of Saint Joseph, a worthy tribute to him who is
the head of the Holy Family and the Patron of the Universal Church.
If
one were to ask any Canadian for the name of the person who built this
magnificent House of God, he would be told, “Brother André.” Yet, this little
lay brother’s name does not appear on any of the official records of the
building of the Oratory. He was only a porter — a doorman — at a college owned
and operated by his religious congregation. He was a little man, both in size
and, if one were to judge by appearance, in importance. He was not a priest;
therefore he could neither offer Mass nor preach. Because of poor education, he
did not know how to read or write until he reached the age of twenty-five.
How
is it, then, that this little brother is known and venerated all over the world
as the little saint who built the Oratory of Saint Joseph in Montreal? It is
our privilege within the following pages to provide you an answer to that
question.
The
Early Years
On
August 9, 1845, Alfred Bessette was born to Isaac and ClothildeBessette, the
eighth in what would become a family of twelve children. The Bessettes were a
poor French Canadian family who lived in the farming village of St. Gregoire,
thirty miles from Montreal, and about the same distance from the border of the
United States. Isaac and Clothilde were devout Catholics who, by their own
example, taught their children the virtuous habits of prayer and hard work,
habits which were to become for little Alfred the key to his ultimate sanctity
as Brother André.
Its girth is so massive that it
could hold within itself any one of most of the world’s great shrines, including
Saint Anne de Beaupré and Saint Paul of London. The cross atop its domed roof
can be seen for miles around, guiding the millions of pilgrims who come there
each year. It is the Oratory of Saint Joseph, a worthy tribute to him who is
the head of the Holy Family and the Patron of the Universal Church. read more...
