A great apostle, the late Alphonsus McAndrews

Many people have been asking me as to what happened to the elderly gentleman by the name of Mr. Alphonsus McAndrews who used to come to renew their subscription to the "Michael" Journal and who spoke often at the monthly meetings in Toronto.

Mr. McAndrews left for his celestial home on October 19, 2007 in St. Catharines, Ontario at the age of 84 after suffering from alzheimer's and dementia. His funeral Mass was held in St. Catharines'Roman Catholic Cathedral on October 24, 2007. He left behind five children: Michael, Moreen, Mary, Rosanne, and Stacey. He was preceded in death by his wife, Jacqueline.

Mr. McAndrews had been an active member of the Pilgrims of Saint Michael for over 30 years. In fact, he was what we would call a local Full-time. He had spent many months at our headquarters in Rougemont, Quebec, to help build the House of the Immaculate and to do general repair work. He attended all of our Congresses, monthly meetings, and weeks of prayer called "The Siege of Jericho."

Mr. McAndrews had a great understanding of the corruption of the present financial system, and his speeches on the subject would catch the attention of all present. His house in St. Catharines was our "Michael" center for that part of Ontario. Many months he would give two weeks of his time to do apostolate work with myself, who was assigned to work in that part of Ontario. He would provide the food and lodging, and would always practice the humble virtue of obedience. In fact, many times he would say to me, "You call the shots, and I will follow."

He was a man who was not afraid of sacrifice. It would not matter if the weather was bitter cold or if it was hot and humid. Mr. McAndrews was always happy to go out and do the apostolate work of "Michael". He would do the Rosary Crusade every Saturday, participate in leaflet assaults, and drive the Pilgrims to do the renewing of subscriptions. He had become so good in the apostolate that one year (1990) he was the champion of the local workers for taking subscriptions to "Michael", with 2,227 subscriptions. (For ten years, he got over 1,000 subscriptions each year.) He understood what a meritorious thing it is to work for the love of your neighbor.

He was also a man of prayer. It was a point of honor that he attend Mass daily, that he say his three rosaries every day, the Chaplet of Saint Michael, and the consecration prayers of our Order of Saint Michael. Many times we would say the Rosary together as we traveled in our car.

Mr. McAndrews was a pillar for our Movement, and he is certainly missed. He will always be remembered in our daily prayers.

Melvin Sickler