Alfred Bessette was born not far from Montreal in Canada and he was the eighth of twelve children. When Alfred was nine, his father, a wood cutter, died in an accident at work. Three years later, Alfred’s mother died of tuberculosis, leaving the children orphans. Each one of them was then placed in a different home.

Alfred went to live with his aunt and uncle. Now because his family had been so poor and he was often sick, Alfred had very little education. His uncle made sure that Alfred worked for a living. So for the next thirteen years he tried learning different trades like farming, shoemaking and baking. He even worked in a factory in Connecticut. But his health always failed him.

When Alfred was twenty-five, he joined the order of Holy Cross and chose the name Brother Andre. At first they refused him because his health was not good but then the Bishop favored Andre and he was accepted.

He spent the next forty years as a general maintenance man, Sacristan, laundry worker and messenger. The remaining years of his life were spent as the doorkeeper for the order’s college called Notre Dame in Montreal.

Here, Brother Andre’s healing power became known. When people came to ask him for a cure, he would tell them to first thank God for their suffering because it was so valuable. Then he would pray with them. Most of them were cured. Brother Andre always refused credit for the healing. He insisted it had been the person’s faith and the power of St. Joseph and soon the trickle of sick people at his door became a flood.

Brother Andre had a great love for the Eucharist and for St. Joseph. On his windowsill, facing Mount Royal, was a small statue of Saint Joseph that Andre honored. When he was young, he dreamt he saw a big church, but he couldn’t tell where it was. Gradually, he came to realize that God wanted a church in honor of St. Joseph. That church was to be built on top of Mount Royale in Montreal, Canada.

For many years the Church tried to buy land on Mount Royal then Brother Andre and his helpers climbed the steep hill and planted medals of Saint Joseph on it. Soon the owners agreed to sell the land to the Church.

Prayer and the sacrifices of Brother Andre and many other people made the dream come true. The magnificent church honoring St. Joseph was built and is a proof of Brother Andre’s great faith. Pilgrims come to Mount Royale all year and from distant places. They want to honor St. Joseph and show their trust in his loving care, as Brother Andre did.

Brother Andre died peacefully on January 6, 1937. By that time he was receiving 80,000 letters each year from the sick who sought his prayers and healing. Nearly a million people climbed Mount Royale to St. Joseph’s Oratory for his funeral.

They came in spite of sleet and snow to say good-bye to their dear friend. He was proclaimed “blessed” on May 23, 1982, by Pope John Paul II.

Blessed Andre Bessette believed not in himself but in the power of God’s love for him. In him we can see that God reveals his power shining through our human weakness.

The Church found out about St. Thorfinn’s life long after he had died. Fifty years later, his tomb was opened by accident during some construction work to renovate the church. Everyone was surprised by the strong, pleasant smell that came out of his coffin.

The abbot started making enquiries about Thorfinn. He found one elderly monk, Walter de Muda, who knew Thorfinn. In fact, Father Walter had been so impressed with Thorfinn’s gentle goodness, patience, generosity and firmness against the evil and ungodly, that he had written a poem about him.

Walter had placed the poem with Thorfinn in the tomb. The monks went to look for the poem and found the parchment just as new and fresh as the day it had been put there.

The monks felt this was a sign that God wanted Thorfinn to be remembered and honored. People started praying to him and miracles began to happen around his tomb. Father Walter was asked to write whatever he could remember about Thorfinn.

Thorfinn had come from Norway and was a Cistercian monk at the abbey of Tautra. Later he had probably served at the cathedral as a priest. It seems that Thorfinn had signed an important document while at the cathedral.

He had been a witness to the Agreement of Tonsberg in 1277. This agreement between King Magnus VI and the archbishop set the Church free from state control. But a few years later, King Eric rejected the agreement and turned against the archbishop and those who had supported him.

The archbishop was sent away and so was Thorfinn, who was now bishop of Hamar, Norway. Thorfinn started a hard journey to Flanders. He was even shipwrecked on the trip. Finally, he arrived and went to live at the abbey of TerDoest in Flanders, Belgium.

He made a pilgrimage to Rome, but he returned to the abbey very ill. Before he died on January 8, 1285, Thorfinn divided the few possessions he had among his family members and some charitable groups.

Then in a monastery in Belgium. Reports of St. Thorfinn’s holiness and the miracles at his tomb soon spread devotion to him among the Cistercians and Catholics in Hamar, Norway. Today Norwegians still honor St. Thorfinn and celebrate his feast day.