• About Amy Welborn
  • Homeschooling
  • Travel
  • Lent
  • Sex & Gender

Charlotte was Both

Feeds:
Posts
Comments
« Simeon and John
7 Quick Takes »

St. Andre Bessette

January 6, 2021 by Amy Welborn

Quick explanation: Yes, today is Epiphany. No matter whether we celebrated in American churches on Sunday or not…today is the feast of the Epiphany. Globally.

That’s why this saints’ memorial is celebrated today (the date of his death, yes) in the United States, but indeed, tomorrow, January 7, in other countries, including Canada.

If you don’t know about today’s saint – St. Andre Bessette – just take a quick look.

Born Alfred Bessette in Quebec in 1845, he was orphaned by the time he was 12. With little-to-no formal education, he became a Holy Cross brother and because of his sickly nature, was assigned as the doorkeeper at Notre Dame College in Montreal, a post he held for nearly 40 years. It was in this role as a porter that St. André was able to minister to the sick.

He prayed with them to God and St. Joseph, as an intercessor. Hundreds credit their healing to St. André’s prayers. The walls of  St. Joseph’s Oratory are lined with crutches of those who were healed, but St. André always gave credit to God and St. Joseph’s intercession as Jesus’ earthly father.

As he became known as the “Miracle Man of Montreal,” St. André was later assigned full-time as the caretaker of the church that he built to honor St. Joseph. He spent his days seeing healing the sick. By the 1920s, the Oratory hosted more than a million pilgrims annually, and hundreds of cures were attributed to his prayers every year.

St. André Bessette died in Montreal on Jan. 6, 1937. It is estimated that more than a million people made the pilgrimage to the Oratory to say their good-byes to their beloved Brother André. He was beatified on May 23, 1982, and canonized in October 2010, becoming the Congregation of Holy Cross’ first saint. Worldwide the Congregation of Holy Cross community observes St. André’s Feast Day on Jan. 7, because the Vatican and many nations observe the feast of Epiphany on Jan. 6

Andre Bessette is one of the “doorkeeper saints” – who fascinate me. They provide a vital antidote to some of the distracting and even harmful trends in contemporary pop spirituality. Some more thoughts here, related to Solanus Casey. 

Anyway, quickly – I’ve been to the amazing St. Joseph’s Oratory twice. The last time, in 2011, I was amazed at the busloads of Latino pilgrims present. Start off the photos with some vintage holy cards:

"amy welborn"
This one interests me because it predates the large oratory’s construction.
"amy welborn"

"amy welborn"

"amy welborn"

"amy welborn"

Share this:

  • Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
  • Click to email this to a friend (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
  • Click to print (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Tumblr (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window)

Like this:

Like Loading...

Related

Posted in Amy Welborn |

  • It is what it is



    stories
    opinions
    observations
    photos.
    reviews



    Seeker Friendly.


  • Header Image

    Progreso, Mexico 2014

  • Coming in 2021


  • Fiction

    absence of war

    A short story about mothers, daughters, and why we believe what we say we believe…or not. 

    "amy welborn"

    Finalist for the J.F.Powers Short Story Award. Read on  Wattpad. 

    A novel

  • My daughter’s Etsy Shop

    Crafts & Vintage

    vintage lunchbox

     

     

  • My Son’s Writings

    His movie Blog

  • Enter your email address to follow this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

    Join 9,618 other followers

  • Hola.

    Amy Welborn
  • Follow Charlotte Was Both on Facebook. Get new posts in your newsfeed. Save wear and tear on the Internets.

    Follow Charlotte Was Both on Facebook. Get new posts in your newsfeed. Save wear and tear on the Internets.
  • In the past

  • Follow Charlotte was Both on WordPress.com
  • amywelborn.net

    amywelborn.org

  • Copyright Notice

    © Amy Welborn and Charlotte Was Both, 2007-2020  Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this site’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited.

WPThemes.


Cancel

 
Loading Comments...
Comment
    ×
    loading Cancel
    Post was not sent - check your email addresses!
    Email check failed, please try again
    Sorry, your blog cannot share posts by email.
    %d bloggers like this: