Originally published at National Catholic Register
Amid his renowned humility and devotion to St. Joseph, St. André Bessette’s role as a porter reveals his profound accessibility to those in need.
Jan. 6 in the United States (except when it actually is Epiphany) can be celebrated as the optional memorial of St. André Bessette (1845-1937). In Canada, it’s an obligatory memorial on Jan. 7.
Canonized in 2010, he is known for many things. He was a powerful propagator of devotion to St. Joseph. He was the human spiritus movens behind St. Joseph’s Oratory, which towers over Montréal. He was known in his day (and in his sainthood) for the gift of healing.
He was also known for his humility. Frail and sickly, intermittently in school, he didn’t learn to read until he was in his mid-20s. He was a brother, not a priest, in the Congregation of the Holy Cross. He spent his life in supportive physical labors at a Holy Cross institution. He had a deep prayer life.
I’d like to point out one other aspect of his life that perhaps sometimes gets short shrift: his accessibility.
Among what we would today call the “support functions” Bessette performed for the Holy Cross priests and brothers
