Montreal's Brother Andre has been approved for sainthood, Pope Benedict announced in a ceremony at the Vatican.

The formal canonization will take place Oct. 17, 2010, in Rome, along with five others.

Brother Andre, a Holy Cross brother, has been credited with thousands of miraculous healings by the Roman Catholic Church.

He was the founding cleric of St. Joseph's Oratory in Montreal, the landmark church on the northern slope of Mount Royal.

He was declared venerable in 1978 and beatified in 1982.

Brother Andre died in 1937 at 91 years old.

Speaking with The Canadian Press in Montreal, Jean-Claude Cardinal Turcotte compared Brother Andre's achievement of sainthood to an Olympic athlete striving for the top prize.

"It's like a gold medal in the Olympics," he said. "It's very important for Catholics and also for all the simple people who believe in God."

Brother Andre's voyage to sainthood began in 1940 when the Archdiocese of Montreal and the Congregation of Holy Cross and St. Joseph's Oratory started the process. In 1948, a 4,000-page document in support of his sainthood was submitted to the Vatican.

As many as 10 million people had signed a petition calling for Brother Andre to be named a saint.

Brother Andre joins a small group of Canadian saints that includes Margaret d'Youville, who was born in 1701. D'Youville was the first saint born in what has now become Canadian territory.

Canada's other saints are eight French-born Jesuit martyrs who were killed during wars in the 1640s and Marguerite Bourgeoys, who was born in France in 1620 and, along with nurse Jeanne-Mance, is considered one of the founders of Montreal.

Tributes for Brother Andre were quick from several quarters, including Prime Minister Stephen Harper.

"His canonization confirms the devotion of the countless people who came to him for help during his life, the million who attended his funeral and the two million who visit St. Joseph's Oratory every year," Harper said.

"Brother Andre's life shows us the power of faith and the importance of concern for the sick and others in need."

After Brother Andre died, his heart was removed and stored inside the Oratory, which he asked to be kept there to protect the basilica.

According to the official website of St. Joseph's Oratory, the custom of removing hearts before burial goes back to the Middle Ages, where they were preserved as tokens of admiration.

Several French kings' hearts were preserved this way.

Brother Andre's heart was actually stolen in 1973 before it was recovered in Dec. 1974 in a south Montreal basement based on a tip to police. There is now a security system in place for the reliquary containing the heart.

With files from The Canadian Press