Br. John J. McAndrews died amidst the alleluias of Easter morning, April 10, 1955. Though his health had been failing since early in 1954, he never lost his spirit of charity and zeal for the love of God.
Born on December 22, 1900 in Joliet, Br. McAndrews was the second of four children. He attended St. Viator High School and in 1925 began studies at St. Viator College. On April 3, 1940, Br. McAndrews took his first vows at the Clerics of St. Viator Novitiate in Lemont, Illinois. He remained there working in the kitchen.
In August of the same year he was sent to St. Bernard Hall in Bourbonnais. In 1945, he moved to the Provincial House on Sheridan Road, where he would spend the remaining 10 years of his life. Br. McAndrews went about his work quietly, on seemingly unimportant jobs. But they turned out to be vital roles, woven into the day-to-day fabric of life of the communities he served.
Br. McAndrews had a great love for his Viatorian community, and he placed his confreres first in every respect. Eternity is granted to those who attain their salvation through perfection in small things.
Br. John McAndrews was laid to rest at Queen of Heaven Cemetery in Hillside, Illinois. Please keep him in your prayers.
Taken from the 1955 Annuaire, a publication of the General Direction of the Clerics of St. Viator