André Bessette, born Alfred Bessette on 9 August 1845 in Quebec, Canada, was the eighth of twelve siblings. At the age of twelve, he lost both of his parents and had to work independently in the United States.
At 25, he returned to Quebec, where the parish priest encouraged him to pursue a religious vocation and referred him to the priests of the Congregation of the Holy Cross. However, after a year as a novice, he was not accepted due to his frail health, which had troubled him since childhood. Following the recommendation of Bishop Bourget, the Congregation accepted him, and André remained with them for the rest of his life.
His superiors were doubtful of his abilities and thus assigned him minor roles, such as doorkeeping at the College of Notre-Dame in Montreal, washing clothes, and acting as a sacristan or messenger. Despite all this, he was undeterred, saying: “When I joined this community, the superiors sent me to the door, and I stayed there for forty years.”
St André had great devotion to St Joseph, which led him to request funds from the bishop to build a chapel dedicated to him on Mount Royal. The bishop granted him permission but refused to provide any funds. Undiscouraged, André built the chapel with the money he had saved over time. He continued developing the chapel and added rooms for priests who would look after the sanctuary. By the end of his life, the chapel had developed into a basilica, which remains the largest church in Canada and one of the largest domes in the world to this day.
St André passed away on 6 January 1937 at the age of 91. He was canonised on 17 October 2010, becoming the first saint of the congregation. Notwithstanding the criticism and mistrust during his life, no one succeeded in stopping St André from doing the will of God. This sets an example for us to never lose heart and trust in God to fulfil His divine will.
Daniel Cardona
SDC Candidate
