MONTREAL - For one Quebec politician, the most moving moment in Saturday's celebration of St. Brother Andre's recent canonization came when four members of the late cleric's family carried in a small shrine containing a sliver of the saint's heart.
“That was it for me, and when they brought in the crutches,” said Bernard Blanchet after the ceremony.
The city councillor for Lachine, Que., and his mother, Denise, were among a crowd of 30,000 people who flocked to Montreal's Olympic Stadium on Saturday to remember and celebrate Quebec's Brother Andre, who was elevated to sainthood on Oct. 17 in Rome.
Vendors hawked $10 T-shirts with his image, while people stood in long lines in the souvenir shop where wooden crucifixes, key chains, statues of St. Joseph and candles were flying off shelves, with special St. Joseph's Oratory carryalls to hold all the goods.
The crowd spanned all age levels - from toddlers in strollers to seniors using walkers.
Performers from 3 Petits Chanteurs sang as the processional moved toward the makeshift altar, watched by Prime Minister Stephen Harper, Premier Jean Charest and Montreal Mayor Gerald Tremblay.
Quebec singer Chantal Pary took the microphone for a rendition of Miracle de la Montagne by Lucie Bernier as 180 young adults from different cultural communities joined the processional, which also included 60 bishops and almost as many priests and other clergy.
Cardinal Jean-Claude Turcotte presided over the two-hour mass and spoke at length about the man born Alfred Bessette on Aug. 9, 1845 in St. Gregoire, Que., south of Montreal.
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