frater Andreas Engels:frater Andreas - Fraters - CMM Brothers

while others did not see it at all, or only referred to it jokingly or
teasingly. He refused to entertain it himself. He was an ordinary
human and did his best to be an ‘ordinary’ brother. Brother Andreas
bore the nickname of ‘holy brother’ as a kind of cross. It was
a torment he would suffer for a long time and which would mark
him deeply for life.
He rejected any kind of personal adulation, as his fellow brother
Amatus remembers: ‘He scorned honour, wealth and worldly
pleasures. He laughed about honour. He did not like people to
honour him. Once I had to write an article for a newspaper. I do
not remember what it was about, but I had the chance to mention
Brother Andreas. I told him: ‘André, how about I give you a
mention in my article. He looked at me indignantly: “Mention
me! What good will that do? For God’s sake let me be free.” I heeded
his words so as not to hurt him.’ Others were less discreet
and eagerly passed on the stories about his exemplary life and his
reputed holiness, and in this way he became an icon of Ruwenberg.
Devotion
The nickname ‘holy brother’ would outlive Brother Andreas! His
death is followed by a piece of history which is difficult to trace.
Brother Andreas very quickly became a real holy brother to a wide
circle of people. Many invoked him in their prayers. The extra -
ordinary prayers answered and attributed to the intercession of
Brother Andreas were numerous. Several miracles did happen. A
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