The National Week dedicated to Natural and Close Caregivers will take place from November 7 to 13. Let’s honor the courage of these exceptional people and recognize their social value.

When I first became a caregiver, I had no idea that my charitable acts would turn out to be a sacred experience. During my journey as a natural caregiver (because by nature this impulse to accompany my mother through this ordeal was natural to me), I walked the multiple corridors of the health care system night and day. I supported her psychologically, performed medical procedures and watched over her well-being with vigilance. Being alert to what was essential made me aware of the nobility of the role of caregiver that I had taken on. A true evangelical charge awaited me: “I was sick and you visited me” Matthew 25:36.

As I followed the evolution of the care required by the disease, like a prism my heart was imbued with kindness, an intuitive intelligence was revealed to my soul and consequently began a quest for social justice that still lives in me today.

In the unnatural world that has become our own, experiencing this dedication scares many people. Isolation, exhaustion and impoverishment are still current consequences of this temporary vocation. We must learn to renew the energy of love so that our source of self-sacrifice does not run dry. Spiritual support is vital.

On the despite days, I came to confide in Saint Brother André. I was sinking in prayers and he put me back afloat. Each of the visits to the Oratory was invigorating. One day I realized that he was the Patron of Natural and Close Caregivers. It only remained for me to proclaim it loudly and to share his patronal support worldwide so that all people of good faith could also benefit from the benevolent grace that I had obtained.

Caroline Vadeboncoeur
Instigator of the process of this nomination of Saint Brother André,
Patron Saint of Caregivers in Canada.