St.André Bessette is the patron saint.
Sickness and weakness kept him from being born.He was the eighth child of a French Canadian couple.He became a farmhand when he was adopted at 12.The shoemaker, baker, and blacksmith were all failures.During the boom times of the Civil War, he was a factory worker.
At the age of 25, he applied for admission to Holy Cross.He was not admitted because of his weak health after a year of novitiate.But with the help of Bishop Bourget, he was finally received.He worked at Notre Dame College in Montreal as a doorkeeper, sacristan, laundry worker and messenger.He said the superiors showed him the door when he joined the community.
He spent most of the night on his knees in the small room near the door.He had a small statue of Saint Joseph on his windowsill.He said, "Some day, Saint Joseph is going to be honored in a very special way on Mount Royal!"
He went to pray with the sick person when he heard they were ill.He rubbed the sick person lightly with the oil from the lamp.Word of healing powers began to spread.
When an epidemic broke out at a college, André volunteered to nurse.Not a single person died.There were a lot of sick people at his door.His superiors were suspicious and doctors called him a quack.He said that he did not cure.Each year he received 80,000 letters from Saint Joseph, and he needed four secretaries to handle them.
The Holy Cross wanted to buy land on Mount Royal.The medals of Saint Joseph were planted by Brother André and others on the steep hill.The owners relented suddenly.After collecting $200 to build a small chapel, André began receiving visitors and began applying Saint Joseph's oil.Some were cured and some not.There was a pile of crutches, canes and braces.
The chapel grew.There were gleaming walls, but money ran out.There is a statue of Saint Joseph in the middle.The Oratory on Mount Royal took 50 years to build.The sickly boy died at 92.