Saint André of Montreal

God’s Doorkeeper: St. André of Montreal

January 6th, 1937. It was as if a world leader had died. But it was only the humble, simple Brother from Montreal.

Forty-five years later, he is beatified in Rome. Not even 30 years more, on October 17th, 2010, he is canonized.

This makes him the first male Canadian-born saint and the first saint of the Congregation of Holy Cross.

But Brother André would be the first to laugh about his reputation. He would say, “I am a man, just like one of you.”

Salt + Light Television brings audiences the beauty and inspiration of Brother André Bessette’s story, through the documentary God's Doorkeeper: St. André of Montreal. Br. André’s life and ministry of compassion still speak to us today. Produced by Mary Rose Bacani and Sébastien Lacroix, this high-definition production features beautiful scenes and interviews from Montreal, Rome, and parts of the United States where Brother André’s spirit still lives.

Our Personal Thoughts

Br. André really stresses the point that God loves each one of us just the way we are… He has always done so and He always will. - Fr. André Léveillé, CSC (Chaplain, Holy Cross Village, Notre Dame, IN)

Faith must be about people, about real relationships, and about a real extension of the Eucharist in the world… what André does for me is to get my hands dirty, to shed a tear, to open up not only our staff and volunteers but my very heart to people who are so shunned and marginalized by society that there is no help for them. – Fr. Ronald Raab, CSC (Associate Pastor, Downtown Chapel, Portland, OR)

Br. André is relevant to young people in North America, especially, because he’s not a saint from Europe or Latin America or anywhere else. He is a Saint from Montreal. And he was here less than 100 years ago. He was walking these grounds and building the Oratory. And I think he has a way, in his humble and simple way, to attract people, especially young people. – Christopher Borrelli (Youth minister, Holy Name of Jesus Parish, Montreal, Quebec)

His true humility, strength and courage – these are so important in my own life. People say that Br. André was uneducated, but I feel that he was a brilliant man in his own right… I’m university-schooled, I have a Doctorate in Theology. And yet I look to Br. André to inspire me at the level of the heart. – Sr. Carol Descoteaux, CSC (Former Regional Leader, Sisters of Holy Cross, US Region)

For him it was not simply God and me, Br. André and God, but there was a third element in the equation, that being the other person. Therefore it is God, the others and me. Br. André therefore becomes the welcoming man, the listening man, a man of compassion. – Fr. Mario Lachapelle, CSC (Vice Postulator for the Cause of Canonization of Br. André, Rome, Italy)