The Novice Master whispered in Blessed Brother Andre’s ear: "Do not worry; I shall see to it that you make your vows."
At the end of his novitiate, Brother André was assigned to be Doorkeeper of Notre Dame College, the college-seminary of the Order.
As he entered the grounds of the college for the first time and looked at the building he realized, it was the stone building, he had seen in his dream!
Blessed Brother Andre Doorkeeper
Blessed Brother Andre stayed in this position as doorkeeper for forty years.
André had many tasks which he took very seriously, and he did them all faithfully, snatching precious moments during the day to pray. Although he was a man of prayer, he never neglected his assigned responsibilities.
As a matter of fact, all of the activities for which he became famous, were done for the most part in his off-duty time as doorkeeper. As doorkeeper he answered the doorbell and welcomed visitors. Part of this position involved looking for religious or students for whom the visitors had come.
This gave him an opportunity to talk to them about Jesus, Mary and Joseph, as he was leading them to the parlor. Besides being the porter of the door, another duty was to keep the parlor and the three corridors of the college neat and clean. In between all these loving tasks, he was the school barber.
Blessed Brother André loved this job particularly because, as he was cutting the brothers’ hair, he had a captive audience. It was one on one; he could lead them to a deeper understanding and consequently a more profound devotion to Saint Joseph. He remembered always the words of the bishop about making the homage to St. Joseph well-known.
He also had chores outside the college. He was given the responsibility to go to town on different errands. One of these was picking up the mail. Another was driving to the students’ homes on Saturday and doing their laundry.
Blessed Brother Andre Servant to all
Blessed Brother Andre considered all of these tasks very important, offering everything he did to the cause of St. Joseph. He prayed as he performed these tasks. As Blessed Brother Andre went about his varied duties, the townspeople got to know him. They started to tell him about people who were suffering with illnesses.
He went to their homes, visited with them, prayed with them, and then rubbed the ailing person with some oil from the lamp which burned in front of Saint Joseph’s statue in the college chapel. Somehow this angel of mercy was able to do all this and not neglect his appointed duties.
As Mother Angelica says, "Unless we are willing to do the ridiculous, God cannot do the miraculous."
As the ill began to heal miraculously, the word spread. More and more people stopped him and asked him to go to a loved one who was ailing. They lovingly called him: "good Brother André." He healed the sick. They told everyone he was a saint, to his deep dismay. Brother André constantly corrected them, insisting always that it was through Saint Joseph’s intercession that the healings took place.
This frail brother, whom his Superiors thought would be a burden, did the much needed work of ten religious. He was kept so busy, he would sit off in a corner of the dining room, barely taking time to eat. It is miraculous in itself when you think how this man, who could just about eat a mouthful of food because he suffered terribly with pains in his stomach,3 could have had all the energy he had, never complaining as he humbly and diligently went about doing his work.
Pupils and parents alike soon discovered in this unaffected, humble doorkeeper, a man of deep faith, someone they could turn to. In a world where no one cared whether most people lived or died, Blessed Brother Andre sat with them, listened to them, held their hands and cried with them. With his openness and friendly, loving disposition, he touched many, and they opened up to him, sharing illnesses of mind, body and spirit. He always consoled them by saying, "I’ll pray for you." Which he did, and miracles started to happen!
