I know what I want to post tomorrow for the last day of my "month of Saints", but I wasn't at all sure what Saint to feature for this second-to-the-last-day -- until I got home from work. I found that the concrete contractors who have been repairing sidewalks around my apartment complex had poured me a new stoop today. It is still wet. One of the contractors helped me get into my apartment, but I'm pretty much in for the night. Thinking about doors and entry/exit got me to thinking about doorkeepers. In the Church, the term "Porter" is used, and you might be surprised at how many Saints have held the office of Porter. I found a website that listed 11, but I know that that is just a sampling. Here is a link to an article about the history of the office: CATHOLIC ENCYCLOPEDIA: Porter (Doorkeeper) (newadvent.org)
Our Saint for today is one of the more well-known of the Porter Saints, but I will consider sharing about some of the others in future years (God willing).
St. Andre Bessett was born Alfred in a small town southwest of Montreal, Canada, in 1845. He was so frail that he was baptized in an emergency ritual the day after his birth. His father was a carpenter and a lumberman who was killed by a falling tree when Alfred was 9. Alfred and his siblings were left as orphans when his mother died of tuberculosis just three years later. Twelve-year-old Alfred was placed in the care of his aunt and uncle, Timothee and Rosalie Nadeau. He did his best to help out on the farm, but the work was too strenuous for his weak constitution. He was apprenticed out in turn to a cobbler, a baker, a wheelwright, a tinsmith and a blacksmith, but had difficulty with those jobs as well. During this time, he also received catechism lessons from his parish priest and developing lifelong devotions to St. Joseph and the Passion of Christ. He also received minimal schooling, learning only to read and sign his name, both poorly.
Searching for work, Alfred moved to Connecticut when he was 18 and worked in textile mills across Connecticut and Rhode Island. He returned to Canada in 1867. The pastor of his parish had noted the devotion and generosity of the young man and presented him to the Congregation of Holy Cross in Montreal as a potential postulant. The note that the pastor sent to the Congregation stated, "I am sending you a saint." Although initially rejected because of his poor health, he was accepted in 1872 and was given the name Brother Andre, by which he was known the rest of his life.
Brother Andre was given the task of porter and also served as sacristan, laundry worker and messenger. He stated, "When I joined this community, the superiors showed me the door, and I remained 40 years," Andre's great devotion to St. Joseph inspired him to recommend devotion to the Saint. Many people claimed that they had been cured by the prayers of Brother Andre and of St. Joseph. Andre steadfastly refused to take any credit for the cures. His great devotion to the Saint led him to start a campaign to build a chapel in St. Joseph's honor in 1904. In 1924, Constuction of a Basilica to be known as St. Joseph's Oratory began near Brother Andre's chapel.
Brother Andre died in 1937 at the age of 91. A million people filed past his coffin. The Oratory that he inspired was completed 30 years later and his remains lie in a tomb below the Oratory's main chapel. His feast day is January 6 (January 7 in Canada).
St. Andre Bessett, pray for us.
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