Feast of Blessed Andre Bessette, January 6

 

Have you heard the one about if you want to sell your house, you should bury a statue of St. Joseph in your yard? You can even order an "Underground Real Estate Agent" kit with a 4" or 8" statue, and a book called "St. Joseph, My Real Estate Agent"!

Some believe that Blessed Andre Bessette is to blame.

Andre Bessette was the 8th of 12 children in his family. His father and mother both died when he was young and he was adopted by a farmer who put him to work. Andre was a hard worker - beside farming, he tried shoemaking, factory work, baking and blacksmithing. He tried to join the Congregation of the Holy Cross - priests and brothers dedicated to teaching - but Andre couldn't read, which kind of held him back. So they made him the doorman at Notre Dame College in Montreal.

He could see Mount Royal (or in French, Mont Real...get it?) from his room, and vowed to someday build a basilica to St. Joseph on top of it. He prayed that the Congregation would buy the land, but the owner wouldn't sell. Andre would hike to the top to pray and bury medals of St. Joseph.

You can figure out where this going....