More than a million people attended his funeral in the dead of winter in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Who was this saint and what do you know about him?
Did you know Saint Brother André Bessette was …
Please join me for a quiet moment to pray this beautiful prayer to Saint André Bessette together:
André, our Brother …
You knew how to pray…
In the midst of your tasks, in the quiet of night,
Deep in solitude, or surrounded by friends.
André, our Brother, teach us the words that nourish the soul!
André, our Brother …
You knew how to open doors …
To God’s healing grace,
To comfort the sorrowful and challenge the proud,
To bless the humble and lift up the fallen.
André, Our Brother, teach us to open doors!
You knew how to heal …
Saying, Go to Saint Joseph!
Bring him the sick, the troubled, the wounded,
The poor, the orphan, the dying, the sinner.
Andre, our Brother, teach us to pray to Joseph!
You knew how to love …
Our powerful friend in heaven above,
Head of the Holy Family,
Guardian of all families,
Protector of the Church,
Patron of a Happy and peaceful death.
André, our Brother, teach us to love Joseph, the Just man!
You knew how to welcome …
The rich and the powerful,
The poor and the miserable,
The learned and the unschooled,
Especially the simple, lost and forsaken.
André, our Brother, teach us to love them all without exception!
You knew how to dream …
Like Joseph your heavenly friend,
You listened with the ear of your heart
Like Joseph you heard the Spirit at night,
Saying build a great temple on Mount Royal
To honor Good Joseph and give Glory of God.
André, our Brother, teach us to dream!
You knew how to suffer …
To hope in the future,
Without complaint, without fear,
To stand firm, to face life.
You accompanied Jesus on the journey of the Cross,
Sharing his pain and his abandonment.
André, our Brother, teach us the power suffering in silence.
You knew how to live …
For the God whom you served,
For His Son Jesus, Our Lord,
and for Mary, His Mother and Good Joseph His foster father:
You were fearless because you knew God’s great love for you.
André, our Brother, teach us to trust in God’s love for us and live without fear!
Amen.
To view Rosary prayer and Mass streaming live, please visit our Facebook page at 11:30 am EST, Monday – Friday. Please invite your loved ones to join us too! (You don't need a Facebook account to view.)
Father Wilfred J. Raymond, C.S.C. (Father Willy), a native of Old Town, Maine, is the eighth of 12 children. He joined the Congregation of Holy Cross in 1964 and was ordained to the priesthood in 1971. He earned a bachelor’s degree in philosophy from Stonehill College in 1967 and a master’s in Theology from the University of Notre Dame in 1971. He served in ministry at Stonehill College (1979-1992), Holy Cross leadership (1994-2000), National Director of Family Theater Productions, Hollywood (2000-2014), and President of Holy Cross Family Ministries (2014-2022). In addition to English, he is conversant in French and Spanish. He remains a diehard fan of the Boston Red Sox, even though he has served as Chaplain for the Los Angeles Dodgers.
