District of Ireland (SSPX)

Last updated

The Society of Saint Pius X (Latin : Fraternitas Sacerdotalis Sancti Pii X; also known as the SSPX or the FSSPX) is an international priestly fraternity founded in 1970 by the French Roman Catholic Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre.

History

Archbishop Lefebvre first visited Ireland in 1961 for the Patrician Congress in his capacity as head of the West African hierarchy, this was for when he was Archbishop of Dakar and Apostolic delegate for French Speaking Africa. He visited again in 1964 for a celebration in Rockwell College. Both of these were before the Second Vatican Council. His next visit to Ireland was at the invitation of the College Theological Society at Trinity College Dublin in 1978. This was after his decision to ordain some seminarians in the summer of 1976. [1] [2] On that occasion the Archbishop told the people who came to hear him that the Irish were, in his opinion, traditionalists at heart and if they knew what he really believed they would be more receptive. He also claimed that he did not oppose Pope Paul VI. He was accompanied on that occasion by Rev. Richard Williamson one of his English speaking priests. [3] By the late 1970s and early 1980s there was a group of Catholics in Ireland that desired the older form of the Mass. There was no resident priest and people hosted priests that came from England to offer Mass on a monthly basis. In 1980 Lefebvre visited again and spoke on 8 May in Liberty Hall and held a press conference on the same day. [4] On the following day he offered Mass in the [5] Central Hotel for about 150 people.

In 1982 a priest was assigned to Ireland on a full-time basis and it was necessary to purchase a suitable residence. This was done despite the small size of a congregation at the time. With a full-time priest resident in Ireland and regular services the size of the congregation more than doubled to over 500 and it was necessary to purchase a church. [6] It wasn't until the summer of 1985 that the faithful of the Society of St Pius X had a permanent church of their own in Ireland. [7] The first Mass in the newly acquired church was offered by Fr. John Emerson on 11 August that year with over 250 faithful in attendance. [8] The church was dedicated by Archbishop Lefebvre in front of a congregation of 500 on 29 September. [9] In the same year two men from Ireland entered the seminary in Écône. At this time the priest resident in Dublin also traveled to offer Masses in Newry and Belfast.[ citation needed ]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Marcel Lefebvre</span> French traditionalist Catholic archbishop (1905–1991)

Marcel François Marie Joseph Lefebvre was a French Catholic archbishop who greatly influenced modern traditional Catholicism. In 1970, he founded the Society of Saint Pius X (SSPX), a community to train seminarians, in the village of Écône, Switzerland. In 1988, he was excommunicated from the Catholic Church for consecrating four bishops against the express prohibition of Pope John Paul II.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Traditionalist Catholicism</span> Catholic religious movement

Traditionalist Catholicism is a movement encompassing members of the Catholic Church and offshoot groups of the Catholic Church that emphasizes beliefs, practices, customs, traditions, liturgical forms, devotions and presentations of teaching associated with the Catholic Church before the Second Vatican Council (1962–65). Traditionalist Catholics particularly emphasize the Tridentine Mass, the Roman Rite liturgy largely replaced in general use by the post-Second Vatican Council Mass of Paul VI.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Society of Saint Pius X</span> Traditionalist association in the Catholic Church

The Society of Saint Pius X, also known as the Lefebvrists, is an international fraternity of traditionalist Catholic priests founded in 1970 by Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre, a leading traditionalist voice at the Second Vatican Council with the Coetus Internationalis Patrum and Superior General of the Holy Ghost Fathers until 1968. The society was initially established as a pious union of the Catholic Church with the permission of François Charrière, the Bishop of Lausanne, Geneva and Fribourg in Switzerland. In 2022, the society reached over 700 priestly members, with 1,135 total members.

The Society of Saint Pius V, is a traditionalist Catholic society of priests, formed in 1983, and based in Oyster Bay Cove, New York, United States. The society broke away from the Society of Saint Pius X (SSPX) over liturgical issues.

Ecclesia Dei is the document Pope John Paul II issued on 2 July 1988 in reaction to the Ecône consecrations, in which four priests of the Society of Saint Pius X were ordained as bishops despite an express prohibition by the Holy See. The consecrating bishop and the four priests consecrated were excommunicated. John Paul called for unity and established the Pontifical Commission Ecclesia Dei to foster a dialogue with those associated with the consecrations who hoped to maintain both loyalty to the papacy and their attachment to traditional liturgical forms.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bernard Fellay</span> Swiss bishop (born 1958)

Bernard Fellay is a Swiss bishop and former superior general of the Traditionalist Catholic priestly fraternity Society of Saint Pius X (SSPX). In 1988, Pope John Paul II announced that Fellay and three others were automatically excommunicated for being consecrated as bishops by Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre, an act that the Holy See described as "unlawful" and "schismatic". Archbishop Lefebvre, and Bishop Antônio de Castro Mayer who co-consecrated these four bishops, were also said to be automatically excommunicated. At that time, he was the youngest bishop of the Roman Catholic Church at 30 years old.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bernard Tissier de Mallerais</span> French Traditionalist Catholic bishop

Bernard Tissier de Mallerais is a French traditionalist Catholic prelate, serving as a bishop of the Society of Saint Pius X.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alfonso de Galarreta</span> Spanish-Argentine bishop

Alfonso de Galarreta Genua,, is a Spanish-born Argentine bishop of the Society of Saint Pius X. Bishop de Galarreta has served as the First Assistant of the Society of Saint Pius X, working under the direction of the Superior General Fr. Davide Pagliarani, since 2018. In addition to this, Bishop de Galaretta has been the President of the SSPX—Vatican Commission since 2009, which directs the Society's correspondence with the Holy See.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">International Seminary of Saint Pius X</span>

The International Seminary of Saint Pius X in Écône, Valais, Switzerland is the premier seminary of the Roman Catholic traditionalist Society of Saint Pius X (SSPX). The seminary is one of the six houses for formation for the future priests of the Society of Saint Pius X. The Seminary was founded in 1970 by Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre, and his tomb can be found there.

The Pontifical Commission Ecclesia Dei was a commission of the Catholic Church established by Pope John Paul II's motu proprioEcclesia Dei of 2 July 1988 for the care of those former followers of Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre who broke with him as a result of his consecration of four priests of his Society of St. Pius X as bishops on 30 June 1988, an act that the Holy See deemed illicit and a schismatic act. It was also tasked with trying to return to full communion with the Holy See those traditionalist Catholics who are in a state of separation, of whom the Society of Saint Pius X (SSPX) is foremost, and of helping to satisfy just aspirations of people unconnected with these groups who want to keep alive the pre-1970 Roman Rite liturgy.

Clarence Kelly is an American sedevacantist traditionalist Catholic bishop. He is a co-founder of the Society of Saint Pius V and the founder of the Congregation of Saint Pius V.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Écône consecrations</span> 1988 controversial consecrations performed by Catholic Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre

The Écône consecrations were Catholic episcopal consecrations in Écône, Switzerland, on 30 June 1988 performed by Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre and Bishop Antônio de Castro Mayer. The bishops consecrated were four priests of Lefebvre's Society of Saint Pius X (SSPX). The consecrations, performed against the explicit orders of Pope John Paul II, represented a milestone in the troubled relationship of Lefebvre and the SSPX with the Church leadership. The Holy See's Congregation for Bishops issued a decree signed by its Prefect Cardinal Bernardin Gantin declaring that Lefebvre had incurred automatic excommunication by consecrating the bishops without papal consent, thus putting himself and his followers in schism.

Summorum Pontificum is an apostolic letter of Pope Benedict XVI, issued in July 2007. This letter specifies the circumstances in which priests of the Latin Church could celebrate Mass according to what Benedict XVI called the "Missal promulgated by Blessed John XXIII in 1962" and administer most of the sacraments in the form used before the liturgical reforms that followed the Second Vatican Council.

There have been several controversies surrounding the Society of St. Pius X, many of which concern political support for non-democratic regimes, alleged antisemitism, and the occupation of church buildings. The Society of St. Pius X is an international organisation founded in 1970 by the French traditionalist Catholic archbishop Marcel Lefebvre.

For a number of years after the controversial 1988 consecrations, there was little if any dialogue between the Society of St. Pius X and the Holy See. This state of affairs ended when the Society led a large pilgrimage to Rome for the Jubilee in the year 2000.

The canonical situation of the Society of Saint Pius X (SSPX), a group founded in 1970 by Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre, is unresolved.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Servants of the Holy Family</span> All-male traditional Catholic religious community located in Colorado Springs

Servants of the Holy Family is a semi-contemplative, traditional Catholic religious community of men located in Colorado Springs, Colorado (USA). Membership includes priests, seminarians and brothers. Servants of the Holy Family (SHF) was the first traditional Latin Mass religious community for men begun in the United States. The introduction of the Mass of Paul VI was a catalyst for such foundations in the Church. SHF's website states that it is faithful to the traditional Latin Mass and Catholic doctrine and morals and is endorsed by Catholic Bishops worldwide who support the traditional Latin Mass.

<i>Marcel Lefebvre – Archbishop in Stormy Times</i> 2012 French film

Monseigneur Lefebvre, un évêque dans la tempête is a 2012 documentary film by French director Jacques-Régis du Cray, primarily based on the biography A biography of Archbishop Lefebvre written by Bishop Bernard Tissier de Mallerais.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alfredo Méndez-Gonzalez</span> American prelate of the Catholic Church (1907–1995)

Alfredo José Isaac Cecilio Francesco Méndez-Gonzalez was an American Catholic bishop who served in Puerto Rico and who later became involved with sedevacantists.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Donald Sanborn</span> American sedevacantist bishop

Donald J. Sanborn is an American sedevacantist bishop who is known for his advocacy of sedevacantism and sedeprivationism. He currently serves as the superior general of the sedevacantist Roman Catholic Institute (RCI) and rector of the sedevacantist Most Holy Trinity Seminary, which was relocated to Reading, Pennsylvania, United States, in 2022.

References

  1. Nolan, Patrick. "Lefebvre, the controversial churchman, to speak at TCD". The Irish Times. No. 6 May 1978. Retrieved 27 December 2017.
  2. "Lefebvre to visit Dublin". The Irish Times. No. 2 May 1978. Retrieved 27 December 2017.
  3. Nolan, Patrick. "Lefebvre in Dublin". The Irish Times. No. 8 May 1978. Retrieved 27 December 2017.
  4. "Lefebvre claims ban on Tridentine Mass to go". The Irish Times. No. 8 May 1980. Retrieved 27 December 2017.
  5. Kennedy, Maev. "Lefebvre offers Mass in Dublin". The Irish Times. No. 9 May 1980. Retrieved 27 December 2017.
  6. "History of the SSPX in Ireland". SSPX - District of Ireland. 27 September 2016. Retrieved 27 December 2017.
  7. "Dun Laoghaire - St John's Church & Presbytery". SSPX - District of Ireland. Retrieved 27 December 2017.
  8. Cummins, Mary. "Silence and murmers of the old rite remembered". The Irish Times. No. 12 August 1985. Retrieved 27 December 2017.
  9. Cummins, Mary. "Dissident prelate dedicates church". The Irish Times. No. 31 September 1985. Retrieved 27 December 2017.