<p>Known to millions simply as Brother André, Alfred Bessette was born in St-Grégoire, Quebec, in 1845. Orphaned by the age of 12, he was unschooled, small and sickly. In 1870 he joined the Congregation of Holy Cross. For the next 40 years, he was porter at the Collège Notre-Dame on Queen Mary Road in Montreal. In the course of his duties, he welcomed the sick and afflicted and it was his habit to pray with them through the intercession of Saint Joseph. In 30 years, he had gained a reputation throughout the city and, as he was credited with extraordinary favours and with healings, more and more people came to the college to seek out the "Miracle Man of Montreal."</p>
<p>Brother André erected a statue of Saint Joseph on the mountain across from the college. In 1904, assisted by lay friends, he built a wooden chapel on the mountain. Over the years, the chapel grew into a basilica and today Saint Joseph's Oratory welcomes more than two million visitors each year. Its founder lived to be 91, was declared blessed in 1982, and canonized on October 17, 2010.<br /><em><br />©2011 <em>Living with Christ, </em>Novalis - Bayard Press Canada Inc., <strong>http://www.livingwithchrist.ca/</strong>. Reprinted with permission.</em></p>
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