Greetings in the peace of Christ!
Even if this page wasn't publicized to begin with, we thank the many readers and followers of our Ministry, because we can still see some readers who view our Page even if this was inactive for a few months. We would like to announce that because of the instability of internet connections in our locality, we are forced to move this part of the page to a Twitter account. Please follow @sacredrelicsdvo to be able to see the photos of sacred relics in our custody, both for feastdays and for recently arrived relics. Photos of public venerations will also be posted using this account. See you!
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"Virgin Mary, Mother of Jesus, make us saints!" (Prayer composed and frequently recited by the Saint) Joseph was the eldest of 12 children. Born in Piedmont, he was ordained for the Diocese of Turin in 1811. Frail health and difficulty in school were obstacles he overcame to reach ordination. During Joseph’s lifetime, Italy was torn by civil war while the poor and the sick suffered from neglect. Inspired by reading the life of Saint Vincent de Paul and moved by the human suffering all around him, Joseph rented some rooms to nurse the sick of his parish and recruited local young women to serve as staff. In 1832, at Valdocco, Joseph founded the House of Providence which served many different groups (the sick, the elderly, students, the mentally ill, the blind). All of this was financed by contributions. Popularly called “the University of Charity,” this testimonial to God’s goodness was serving 8,000 people by the time of Joseph’s beatification in 1917. To carry on his work, Joseph organized two religious communities, the Brothers of St. Vincent de Paul and the Sisters of St. Vincent de Paul. Joseph, who had joined the Secular Franciscans as a young man, was canonized in 1934. PRAYER to St. Joseph BenedictO God, who have taught your Church to keep all the heavenly commandments by love of you as God and love of neighbor; grant that, practicing the works of charity after the example of blessed Benedict Joseph, we may be worthy to be numbered among the blessed in your Kingdom. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen. (from The Roman Missal: Common of Holy Men and Women—For Those Who Practiced Works of Mercy) Turin is a land of Saints, and most of them have one thing in common- charity. Turning our attention from the famed Don Bosco, from St. Luigi Orione and St. Joseph Cafasso, we now turn our attention to a Saint which has inspired these later generations of Saints to flourish- St. Joseph Benedict Cottolengo. Our ministry is blessed to have a relic of his bones, “ex ossibus”.
In less than 40 years, Gianna Beretta Molla became a pediatric physician, a wife, a mother and a saint! Parenthood is often seen by some as a lesser vocation, as compared to holy orders or religious life, which naturally seeks perfection in both virtues and spiritual gifts. However, let us be reminded that because of our Baptismal consecration, we are all made to be saints and made to be a sanctifying presence in the world. This is what Gianna has excellently taught us. Our ministry is blessed to have a large relic of her clothing obtained from the Archdiocese of Milan, who oversaw her beatification and canonization process. She was born in Magenta near Milano, the 10th of Alberto and Maria Beretta’s 13 children. An active member of the St. Vincent de Paul Society and a leader in the Catholic Action movement, Gianna also enjoyed skiing and mountain climbing. She earned degrees in medicine and surgery from the University of Pavia, eventually specializing in pediatrics. In 1952, Gianna opened a clinic in the small town of Mesero, where she met engineer Pietro Molla. Shortly before their 1955 marriage, Gianna wrote to Pietro: “Love is the most beautiful sentiment that the Lord has put into the soul of men and women.” In the next four years the Mollas had three children: Pierluigi, Mariolina, and Laura. Two pregnancies following ended in miscarriage. Early in her sixth pregnancy, doctors discovered that Gianna had both a child and a tumor in her uterus. She allowed the surgeons to remove the tumor but not to perform the complete hysterectomy that they recommended, which would have killed the child. Seven months later in April 1962, Gianna Emanuela Molla was born at the hospital in Monza, but post-operative complications resulted in an infection for her mother. The following week, Gianna Molla died at home in Mesero, where she was buried. Gianna Emanuela went on to become a physician herself. Gianna Beretta Molla was beatified in 1994 and canonized 10 years later by St. John Paul II, in the presence of her husband Pietro and their children. PRAYER to St. GiannaGod, our Father,
we praise You and we bless You because in Saint Gianna Beretta Molla You have given and made Known to us a woman who witnessed the Gospel as a young person and bride, as a mother and doctor. We thank You because, through the gift of her life, we learn to accept and honour every human being. Lord Jesus, You were for her a privileged reference. She was able to see You in the beauty of nature. As she questioned her choice of life, she was searching for You and for the best way to serve You. Through her married love, she became a sign of your love for the Church and for all men and women. Like You, Good Samaritan, she stopped at the side of every sick person, of the small and the weak. Following your example, she lovingly offered up her life, while giving new life. Holy Spirit, source of all perfection, give to us also wisdom, intelligence and courage so that, following Saint Gianna’s example and through her intercession, we may serve every person in our personal, family and professional life, and thus grow in love and holiness. Amen. This Custody thanks God for the gift of a new relic which was handed to us directly from Spain. We are blessed to have been gifted two "ex ossibus" (bone) relics of St. Maria Bernarda Butler, virgin and foundress of the Franciscan Missionary Sisters of Mary, Help of Christians. Verena Bütler had a very happy childhood in Switzerland. She loved nature and learning. When she made her First Communion in 1860 at the age of 11, her family was pleased by her strong commitment to her faith and spirituality. She finished her formal schooling at the age of 14, and while working on her family farm, she fell in love with a young man. But the call to follow God was stronger; she called off her engagement and entered the convent at the age of 18. However, that convent wasn’t the right place for her. Verena felt drawn to a different kind of religious life, and finally she entered the Franciscan Monastery of Mary Help of Sinners. She took the name Sister Mary Bernard of the Heart of Mary. The Bishop of Portoviejo in the far-off land of Ecuador invited her to serve as a missionary there. She and six other sisters arrived in Ecuador in 1888, where they eventually founded a new congregation, the Franciscan Missionary Sisters of Mary Help of Sinners. There were few priests, and the faith was practiced with poor education in Ecuador. Sister Mary Bernard and her sisters worked very hard to bring religious education to families. Her congregation grew quickly, but her sisters suffered. They were incredibly poor and there were many risks to their health and safety. In 1895, they were forced to flee from Ecuador. Not knowing where to go, they traveled to Colombia and were invited to work in a hospital for women in the Diocese of Cartagena. Sister Mary Bernard’s example led to growth of her congregation, with houses opening in Austria and Brazil. The order’s love for the poor was evident in all they did. In 1924, Sister Mary Bernard died at the age of 74. She had spent 38 years as a missionary and had never returned to her beloved homeland. Because of her missionary zeal and devotion, she was canonized a saint by Pope Benedict XVI in 2008. Pray with St. Maria BernardaWe bless you, Lord,
because you have chosen Saint María Bernarda, to make your merciful love present, through her cooperation for the spread of your kingdom. Grant us the graces that through her intercession we ask you; may her example of life help us to grow in goodness and love, as well as to be of service to our brothers. Affirm, Lord, in us faith, hope and charity. Amen. “We can think, for example, of Blessed Maria Gabriella Sagheddu, who offered her life for the unity of Christians.” (Pope Francis, Gaudete et Exsultate, 5) With these words, Pope Francis brings into our attention the example of Blessed Maria Gabriella Sagheddu, who accepted the call of Christ to pray for the unity of Christians, something very difficult nowadays, as they not only persist in their own versions of the Faith, but also dabble in worldliness in varying degrees. Let us pray that we may also heed this call of Christ to pray for unity in the Church, beginning in the hearts and minds of everyone. Our ministry has been blessed to receive from her monastery a relic of her incorrupt flesh, “ex corpore”, through the good graces of their monastic foundation here in the Philippines. Maria Sagheddu was born to large family of modest means on the island of Sardinia in 1914. At the age of 21, she entered a Trappist convent and took the name Maria Gabriella. The extreme poverty suffered by the community only led them to foster a spirit of sacrifice and abandonment to divine providence, all for the love of God. One sister of the community had this final request on her deathbed: “Please wipe my lips. I’m going off to kiss the bridegroom.” A year after Maria entered the convent, her abbess announced that the sisters would take part in the “Prayer of Unity Octave,” eight days of prayer asking God to bring an end to divisions in Christianity. Immediately after the announcement, a 78-year-old sister named Mother Immacolata approached her abbess with the request to offer the remainder of her life as an oblation for Christian unity: “I’ve come to ask your permission to offer to the good Lord the little bit of time I have left. It’s truly a worthy cause!” Exactly one month after the octave concluded, Mother Immacolata died. With this example before her, Maria Gabriella followed suit. The next year when the octave was announced, Maria Gabriella asked for and received permission to offer her life for the cause of Christian unity. Almost immediately afterward, she feel ill and was eventually diagnosed with tuberculosis. Her suffering increased dramatically, but so did the joy she radiated. A year later Sr. Maria died, having revealed her sacrifice only to a handful of confidantes including her abbess and her spiritual director. At the time of her death, her Trappist sisters discovered that Maria Gabriella’s Bible was particularly worn at John 17 – which contains Christ’s prayer that “they may be one” (John 17:20 and 22). It’s pretty amazing that someone who did nothing but pray has become the Church’s patroness for ecumenism. What is even more amazing is that growing up in Sardinia she had never met a non-Catholic Christian. She only knew that some Christians were separated from the Catholic Church, and that this grieved the Sacred Heart of Jesus. Although Maria was a complete unknown in life, God chose to exalt this humble soul after her death. After many of her sisters at the convent reported receiving messages in their dreams from Sr. Maria Gabriella and witnessed other heavenly signs, her abbess took the unprecedented step of having a biography of Sr. Maria published. Within a few years, visitors of various denominations were making pilgrimages to Maria Gabriella’s grave. When her grave was opened in 1957, Maria’s body and clothing were found incorrupt — a naturally inexplicable state for someone who died of tuberculosis. PRAYER to Blessed Maria GabriellaO God, eternal Shepherd, who inspired Blessed Maria Gabriella, virgin, to offer her life for the unity of all Christians,
grant that through her intercession, the day may be hastened in which all believers in Christ, gathered around the table of Your word and of Your Bread, may praise you with one heart and one voice. Grant us also the favor of (state your intention) which we ask of You through her intercession. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God for ever and ever. Amen. NOTE: Since April 18 falls on Holy Thursday, we have found it opportune to publish it at an earlier date. (The Custodian) When one adores the Eucharist, one will naturally find it easier to recognize His presence in the poor and the lowly. This is the example which today's commemoration of Blessed Savina Petrilli has shown us. Our ministry has a precious relic of her bones,”ex ossibus”, graciously given by the motherhouse of her congregation at Siena. At the age of ten, Savina Petrilli, of Siena, Italy, read a biography of Saint Catherine of Siena that instilled in her a lasting devotion to this saint. Savina thereafter aspired to imitate Catherine's devotion to the Eucharist, the Passion of Christ, and the Church. Following her First Holy Communion at the age of twelve, Savina became a frequent communicant. As a teenager, she was a very active member of a Marian sodality, the Children of Mary. At the age of eighteen, she had the opportunity to meet (Blessed) Pope Pius IX, who, upon learning that she was a native of Siena, commented that she should walk in Saint Catherine's footsteps. Savina saw in this remark a sign from heaven that inspired her to found a new religious congregation. She confided her plan to her dying sister Emilia, who in turn promised to assist in its accomplishment by her prayers in heaven. Savina's congregation received papal approbation in 1877 with the title, the Sisters of the Poor, devoted to the care of the needy. Mother Savina died of cancer on April 18, 1923. PRAYER to Blessed SavinaO Jesus, brother of the lowly,
you gave to Blessed Savina Petrilli a burning love for the Eucharist, an unshakable fidelity to the Gospel, and a motherly tenderness towards the little ones by giving life to the family of the Sisters of the Poor. Grant us her devotion to the Eucharist, her appreciation of the (common) priesthood of the faithful, and her apostolic zeal, a living mirror of the love for the Church by St. Catherine of Siena. Give us a meek and humble heart like Yours, so that we may be eternally a gift of grace to our brothers and sisters, and grant us by her intercession, what we ask for in faith and confidence. Amen. Oftentimes, one of the last things which we can describe a young person is that they are “holy”. We tend to attribute to the young an attitude of recklessness and carelessness which makes them easier to fall into sin. However, this isn't the case with many young saints: short though their lives may be, they have gained merits not only for themselves, but also for others in the spirit of victimhood and sacrifice, as seen in the example of St. Gemma Galgani. (NB: The Passionist Order celebrates her Feast on May 16, which is also the traditional feast of the Saint before the Second Vatican Council.) Our ministry is blessed to have a relic of her body "ex corpore" graciously granted by the Passionist Nuns of her Shrine at Lucca. “Do you desire to love me? Learn to suffer first. Suffering teaches one how to love.” (Jesus to St. Gemma in a vision) Beyond the appearances there is an extraordinary Saint: a mystic in continuous and affectionate dialogue with Jesus; a contemplative saint who prays simply like a child and deeply like a theologian. She withdraws the most terrible difficulties by making herself to be helped by her Guardian Angel. A young girl, she maintains her soul candid and she compelled herself to an immaculate life. Gemma is born in Borgonuovo of Camigliano (Lucca) on 12th March 1878. While he receives the Confirmation in the Church of Saint Michael in Foro, Jesus asks her for the sacrifice of her mother. At the age of eighteen she is submitted, without anaesthesia, to a painful operation to the foot and on Christmas of the same year she makes her vow of chastity. Soon Gemma remains orphaned, nearly abandoned, in the most terrible misery. When she is twenty, Gemma refuses a wedding proposal, for being "all of Jesus". During this year she recovers miraculously from a spinal disease and the mystical experiences begin. As she is healed miraculously, in the city she is called "a child of miracles". She talks with her Guardian Angel and also gives him delicate assignments, like taking post to Rome to her spiritual director. "I give the letter, I have just finished, to the Angel, she writes. It is here beside me waiting for him". And the letters mysteriously reached the addressee without being handled by the post of the Reign. In June 1899 Christ gives her the stigmata. In the same year, during the mission in Saint Martino, Gemma knows the Passionist fathers who introduce her to the Giannini’s. Received like a daughter in this wealthy and devout house she passes her life between house and Church. But the shocking manifestations of her holiness go beyond the walls of the bourgeois house. She produces conversions, foretells future events, and falls in ecstasy. When she prays, she sweats blood; on her body, beside the signs of the nail, the plagues of the flagellation appear. Here she knows Father Germano who will direct her spiritual life. Soon people know that her black gloves and her dark and high-neck dress hide the seals of the Passion. These stigmata opened, painful and bleeding, every week on Friday evening. In front of her the scientists cannot hide their embarrassment. Some spiritual directors, too cannot explain the extraordinary young girl: they suspect mystification, hysteria, they ask for tests, they want proofs of obedience. Gemma, although enduring extreme physical pains and moral tests, does not say anything, or better, she always says Yes. She does not ask for anything, or better, she asks Jesus for more pain for herself and conversion and salvation for the others. In 1901, at the age of 23, according to Father Germano’s will, Gemma writes the Autobiography, “the notebook of my sins”. In the following year she offers herself to God as victim for the salvation of the sinners. Jesus asks her to found a monastery of cloistered Passionists in Lucca. Gemma answers with enthusiasm. In the month of September of the same year she becomes ill seriously. Her life is marked deeply by pain. The darkest period of her life has started. The consequences of the sin weigh heavily on her body as well as on her soul. In 1903, on Saint Saturday, Gemma Galgani dies at 25 years, pressed by pain, but asking for more pain until the end. In 1903 Pope St. Pius X signs the Decree of foundation of the Passionist Monastery in Lucca. In 1905 the cloistered Passionists begin their presence in Lucca, and meet the ancient desire that Jesus expressed to Gemma. Father Germano, spiritual director of Gemma, wrote the first biography for Gemma in 1907. The canonical processes for the acknowledgment of her holiness start. In 1933 Pius XI includes Gemma Galgani into the Blessed souls of the Church. In 1940 Venerable Pius XII will raise Gemma Galgani to the glory of the Saints and to show her as model of the universal Church for her heroic practise of the Christian virtues. PRAYERSPrayer to Jesus for a specific favor written by St. Gemma
Behold me at Your most holy feet, O dear Jesus, to manifest to you my gratitude for the continual favors which You have bestowed upon me, and still wish to bestow upon me. As many times as I have invoked You, O Jesus, You have made me content; I have often had recourse to You and You have always consoled me. How shall I express myself to You, dear Jesus? I thank you! Yet one more grace I desire of you, O my God, if it would be pleasing to You (here mention your request). If you were not omnipotent, I would not make this request. O Jesus, have pity on me. May your most holy will be done in all things" Prayer to St. Gemma often recited by the Passionists Oh St. Gemma, how compassionate was your love for those in distress, and how great your desire to help them. Help me, also in my present necessity and obtain for me the favor I humbly implore, if it be profitable for my soul. The numerous miracles and the wonderful favors attributed to your intercession instill in me the confidence that you can help me. Pray to Jesus, your Spouse, for me. Show Him the stigmata which His love has given you. Remind Him of the blood which flowed from these same wounds, the excruciating pain which you have suffered and the tears which you have shed for the salvation of souls. Place all this as your precious treasure in a chalice of love and Jesus will hear you. Amen. Today, we remember the feast of a Franciscan nun known for being an excellent manager: she managed the temporal and spiritual lives of her nuns, while making sure she also managed her path to holiness. Oftentimes, leaders and managers are often seen in a negative light, but with the example of St. Crescentia, may we be reminded that to be placed above others in rank is in essence, to be placed at the bottom to be first to serve and care for others. Our ministry has relics of wood from her coffin and canvas that was found inside her coffin. Crescentia was born in 1682, the daughter of a poor weaver, in a little town near Augsburg. She spent play time praying in the parish church, assisted those even poorer than herself and had so mastered the truths of her religion that she was permitted to make her first Holy Communion at the then unusually early age of 7. In the town she was called “the little angel.” As she grew older, she desired to enter the convent of the Tertiaries of Saint Francis. But the convent was poor, and because Crescentia had no dowry, the superiors refused her admission. Her case was then pleaded by the Protestant mayor of the town to whom the convent owed a favor. The community felt it was forced into receiving her, and her new life was made miserable. She was considered a burden and assigned nothing other than menial tasks. Even her cheerful spirit was misinterpreted as flattery or hypocrisy. Conditions improved four years later when a new superior was elected who realized her virtue. Crescentia herself was appointed mistress of novices. She so won the love and respect of the sisters that, upon the death of the superior, Crescentia was unanimously elected to that position. Under her, the financial state of the convent improved and her reputation in spiritual matters spread. She was soon being consulted by princes and princesses; bishops and cardinals too sought her advice. And yet, a true daughter of Francis, she remained ever humble. Bodily afflictions and pain were always with her. First it was headaches and toothaches. Then she lost the ability to walk, her hands and feet gradually becoming so crippled that her body curled up into a fetal position. In the spirit of Francis she cried out, “Oh, you bodily members, praise God that he has given you the capacity to suffer.” Despite her sufferings she was filled with peace and joy as she died on Easter Sunday in 1744. She was beatified in 1900 and canonized by Pope John Paul II in 2001. Prayer composed by St. CrescentiaGrant, O God, that love and suffering may grow hand in hand in me, so that I may love you more and more with the cheerful disposition which is the fruit of love. O Lord, only grant me love for you, and I shall be rich enough. I desire only that you leave me to my nothingness and that you alone, if I may say so, be all in all and loved and honored by everybody. I wish to take pleasure in nothing but only in you and your love. Amen.
Today, our Church remembers a Saint who is characterized by his love for the youth in society: his example is a clear reminder for all of us to put our energies and talents in forming the next generation of young people to be of greater service to God and to their society, to be leaven of the world which is already so broken by pride and self-interest. On 16 October 2016, Pope Francis added seven new witnesses to the catalogue of saints. Among them was St Lodovico Pavoni (1784-1849) from Brescia in Northern Italy. Lodovico Pavoni realized that the education of young people was the most urgent need of his time. The figure of Pavoni is of a saint who made a great impact by his work on behalf of youth and persons most in need of support (deaf, disabled, orphans, and the poor) while also contributing to the renewal of contemplative life. His story is very relevant in this jubilee year, because the founder of the Sons of Mary Immaculate was an authentic witness of God's mercy to the younger generation. LODOVICO PAVONI was born to a noble family, in Brescia, on September 11, 1784, in a time of profound political and social upheavals. Ordained a priest on February 21, 1807, he devoted himself to the education of the poor youth. For them, in 1812, he founded an oratory; and, for their sake, he gave up the possibility of an ecclesiastical career, which seemed paved for him when the Bishop Nava called him to be his Secretary (1812) and appointed him Canon of the Cathedral (1818). Feeling deeply questioned by the situation of many teenagers who, left to themselves and forced to work in morally dangerous environments, were losing the values and Christian principles learned in the Oratory, Lodovico Pavoni offered them a home, a family and a job, opening in 1821 the Institute of St. Barnabas. He wanted it as a “College of Arts” in which the welfare intervention was completed by an articulate educational project, based on the centrality of the person being educated and on tenderness, what later came to be called “preventive method.” He also understood that to offer his young people a decent future, it was necessary to teach them a profession that would make them autonomous and socially useful. That is why eleven craft workshops were opened at St. Barnabas, among those the Typography stand out as the first graphic school in Italy, which soon became a real Publishing House. He also received in the Institute deaf people, whom he loved with preference, because “being in greatest need, have more right to the concerns of charity.” For the peasant he projected an agricultural farm at Saiano in Franciacorta, twelve kilometers away from Brescia. In order to provide continuity and prosperity to his works, he founded, on December 8, 1847, the Congregation of the Sons of Mary Immaculate, whose members − priests and consecrated brothers − could be directly inserted into the same mission and share “a life perfectly in common.” Lodovico Pavoni died in Saiano, where he had gone to rescue his boys, on April 1, 1849, the last of the “Ten Days” of Brescia. Pius XII, recognizing his heroic virtues in 1947, called him “another precursor of St. Philip Neri ... a forerunner of St. John Bosco ... a perfect emulator of St. Joseph Cottolengo.” On April 14, 2002, in the solemn setting of St. Peter’s Square in Rome, he was beatified by Pope John Paul II, who also established his annual memorial on May 28. A miracle occurred in Brazil made it possible for Fr. Lodovico Pavoni to be declared saint by Pope Francis, on October 16, 2016, in a solemn celebration, also at St. Peter’s Square in Rome. Currently the Congregation of the Pavonians continues the charism of its founder in education, publishing apostolate (Àncora publishing house) and pastoral in Italy, Spain, Brazil, Colombia, Mexico, Eritrea, Burkina Faso and Philippines. There are many reasons why Pavoni can be considered a precursor. Long before Don Bosco or Don Murialdo, Pavoni saw in the phenomenon of juvenile neglect one of the great dramas that characterized the age of transition between the old regime and industrialized society. He understood that the only way of redemption was through holistic education of the person. Religious education was his fundamental objective, but Pavoni saw professional training as the way that best covers all aspects of the person. The centrality of the Christian faith, love for each person, the importance of work as an instrument of human and social development, clear rules within an organization but implemented as in a family, attention to personal relationship and recourse to reason rather than imposition – these are the components of a plan that aims to equip young people with the necessary tools to develop a balanced personality and to recognize their social role before the impact of the social situation drives them inexorably to the margins. PRAYER to St. LodovicoWe implore you, Father, source of life and joy;
through the intercession of Saint Lodovico Pavoni, with confidence we ask for the grace of... (mention the grace you are praying for) May your all-powerful love grant our prayer and make us more like your faithful servant, who gave joy and hope to the young and the poor. May our dearest Mother Mary present You our petitions; she obtained the first miracle in Cana through Jesus, Your Son, who lives and reigns with You in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen. In what seemed to be a twist of circumstances, a relic of St. Andre Bessette arrived in our custody. Like his life, what seemed to be the end as a refusal actually turned out to be an occasion for blessing. The relic of his in our care is a piece of cloth with his blood. Put yourself in God's hands: he abandons no one... Alfred Bessette was born in Quebec on August 9, 1845, and he was orphaned by the time he was 12. He had to work to support himself and had little formal education, but from an early age he had a lively faith and a strong devotion to St. Joseph. After a few years trying to find work in the United States, he returned to Quebec. There, his childhood pastor encouraged him to consider a vocation to religious life. He sent Alfred to the Congregation with a note that said, “I am sending you a saint.” Initially, Holy Cross did not accept Alfred because of his poor health. He had been baptized right after birth because they had been afraid that he might not live more than a few days, and he was sickly all his life. Alfred, however, was not discouraged, with the assistance of the Archbishop of Montreal, received entrance into the Holy Cross Novitiate on December 27, 1870. Upon entering the Novitiate, Alfred took the name André, which was the name of his childhood pastor. Given his frail health and lack of a formal education, Brother André was assigned as doorkeeper of Notre Dame College in Montreal. He continued this assignment as a professed brother. Among his many duties, he greeted visitors and tended to their needs. Many people began to experience physical healings after praying with Brother André, and his reputation as a healer began to spread. So many people flocked to see him that the Congregation allowed him to see sick people at a trolley station across the street. Through it all, Brother André remained humble, often seeming confused that people would lavish such praise on him. He knew that the real source of these miraculous cures was St. Joseph’s intercession. His desire to increase devotion to St. Joseph inspired him to found a shrine to his favorite saint across the street from Notre Dame College. He saved the money he earned from giving haircuts at five cents apiece, eventually earning the $200 he needed to construct a simple structure. This shrine opened on October 19, 1904, and in 1909, Brother André was released from his duties as doorkeeper and assigned full-time as the caretaker of the Oratory of St. Joseph. The Oratory attracted large numbers of pilgrims, and plans were made to construct a large basilica. Brother André’s full-time ministry for the rest of his life was to receive the long lines of sick visitors who flocked to the Oratory to see him. He became known as the “Miracle Man of Montreal,” and thousands of miraculous healings were attributed to his intercession over the following decades. Brother André died on January 6, 1937 at the age of 91. During the week that his body lay in state outside of St. Joseph’s Oratory, an estimated one million people braved the bitter Montreal winter to pay their respects. The basilica was eventually completed and remains a major pilgrimage site, attracting over two million visitors a year. The side chapels are filled with the crutches of people healed through St. André’s prayers.On October 17, 2010, St. André Bessette became first saint of the Congregation of Holy Cross when he was canonized by Pope Benedict XVI. On this day, the Church recognized that God chose a very simple man for a remarkable life of service to the Church. He had previously been beatified by Saint John Paul II on May 23, 1982. Prayer to St. Brother Andre"When you pray, you talk to God the way you do a friend."
-Brother Andre Lord, you chose Brother André to spread devotion to Saint Joseph, and to dedicate his life to the poor and afflicted. Grant through his intercession the favour(s) that I now request… [State your intentions…] Grant me the grace to imitate his piety and charity, so that, with him, I may share the rewards promised to all who care for their neighbours out of love for you. I make this prayer in the name of Jesus the Lord. Amen. Pray: 3x Our Father… 3x Hail Mary… 3x Glory Be… |
"All the Saints of God are there to protect me, to sustain me and to carry me. Indeed, the communion of Saints consists not only of the great men and women who went before us and whose names we know. All of us belong to the communion of Saints, we who have been baptized in the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, we who draw life from the gift of Christ’s Body and Blood, through which he transforms us and makes us like himself. Yes, the Church is alive – this is the wonderful experience of these days. "
(Pope Benedict XVI, Homily on the Mass of Inauguration to the Petrine Ministry, 24 April 2005) NOTE:This ministry does not entertain requests nor for information to obtain the relics which appear in this website. Guide For Relic ClassificationWe strive to provide English translations of the terminology used to label relics. However, there may be a need to consult the original term to avoid confusion.
Please go to this page for a short guide to relic classification. Instagram Feed/BlogArchives
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