1988
Ordinations at the International Seminary of St. Pius X in Econe
Summary
The Society of St. Pius X is an international
priestly society of common life without vows, whose purpose is the priesthood
and that which pertains to it.
The SSPX was patterned by its founder, Archbishop
Marcel Lefebvre, after the religious societies of foreign missions.
The spirit of the SSPX is essentially apostolic,
because such is the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, and because the members of the
Society will have in general to exercise an exterior ministry.
A
brief chronology
1969
A “retired” archbishop, His Excellency Marcel
Lefebvre, agrees to help a handful of young seminarians who are disconcerted by
the direction being taken in post-Vatican II seminaries in their priestly
formation. He does this, not only by undertaking their training, but also by
founding a Society aiming at fostering a priestly life according to the wise
norms and customs of the Church of previous days.
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November 1,
1970
The Society of St. Pius X
(SSPX) is officially recognized by the local ordinary of
Lausanne, Geneva, and Fribourg, Bishop Charriere. It is therefore truly a new little branch pushed forth by the Church.
February 18, 1971
Cardinal Wright, Prefect of the Sacred Congregation for the Clergy,
issues a decree praising the wisdom of the Society’s statutes.
June 10, 1971
Archbishop Lefebvre announces, together with the staff of
the International Seminary of St. Pius X at Econe (Switzerland), the refusal to adopt the
Novus Ordo Missae (cf.
question
5).
1971 - 1974
Following on Cardinal Wright’s
letter are other sure signs of Rome’s full acceptance of the SSPX:
Allowing its houses to be erected canonically in one Italian and two Swiss dioceses.
Allowing three outside priests to join the Society and to be
incardinated directly into it.
During the same years the French Episcopal Conference was maneuvering to have the Society and its seminary suppressed
(cf.
question
3).
November 1, 1980
By its 10th anniversary, the SSPX has 40 houses on two continents.
November 1, 1995
By its 25th anniversary, the SSPX numbers four
bishops, over 360 priests, 50 brothers, 120 sisters and 53
oblate sisters, all living in 140 houses in 27 countries. Together they seek the
goal of the priesthood: the glorification of God, the continuation of Our Lord’s
redemptive work, the salvation of souls. They accomplish this by fidelity to
Christ’s testament, the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass (cf.appendix 3).
2000 - Today
Impressed by the SSPX's Pilgrimage of Tradition
made in Rome for the Jubilee Year (2000), the Holy See invites the Society to
discuss a possible regularization.
The SSPX's Superior General, Bishop Bernard Fellay,
requests and obtains two signs of good will on the part of Rome: the
liberalization of the traditional Roman Mass (July 7, 2007) and the withdrawal
of the "excommunications" of the Society's bishops (January 29, 2009).
In October 2009, the Holy See also grants Bishop
Fellay's request for a theological commission to enable the SSPX to present its
position concerning the errors of the Second Vatican Council and the New Mass.
After the meetings of the theological commission,
Pope Benedict XVI began proceedings in an attempt to provide a canonical
solution to the SSPX's situation. Throughout all of this, Bishop Fellay has
continually upheld Archbishop Lefevre's uncompromising position to the
Modernist errors of the Second Vatican Council.
Meanwhile, the SSPX has continued to steadily grow
throughout the world,as indicated by the statistics below.
International
presence
+550 priests
~200 seminarians
+100 religious brothers
+170 religious sisters
+2000 third order members
6 seminaries (Switzerland, USA, France, Germany, Australia,
Argentina)
SSPX
and Rome: a complete listing! A
complete listing of all articles, communiqués and
press releases related to the discussions between the
SSP X and the Holy See
8-13-2012
A profound injustice
Fr. Cacqueray:
The treatment that
the hierarchy of the Catholic Church has been inflicting on the
Priestly Society of St. Pius X for almost forty years is born of
a profound injustice. We say this without the least bitterness,
for we remember well the eighth beatitude...
3-5-2013
Archbishop Lefebvre: why the SSPX uses the 1962 missal Now,
there is no danger for the Faith in the liturgy of Pope Pius XII
and Pope John XXIII, whereas there is great danger for the Faith
in the liturgy of Pope Paul VI, which is unacceptable....
12-21-2012
Statistics of the SSPX for 2012
Recently the French district's website published some
interesting statistics about the Society throughout the world,
which we offer here in English....
12-21-2012
Where do we stand in Rome?
Bishop Fellay's Econe sermon Where do we
stand with Rome? Allow me to explain two points. First, a look at
what has happened. Then, a look at the present and perhaps at the
future...
The path leading out of this crisis is quite simple... the only
way to get out of the crisis is to return to what the Church has
always done. 11-9-2012
DICI
"We
are back at square one" Fr.
Niklaus Pfluger (First Assistant to the Superior General)
answers some questions about what has happened recently with the
SSPX and Rome
during an interview with a German Catholic magazine...
10-16-2012 DICI
Is recognizing the SSPX questioning the Council? The
rift between the Holy See and the SSPX arises because the
Society rejects these particular elements of Vatican II
[religious liberty, ecumenism, collegiality], not because of an
intention on the part of the Holy See to defend Vatican II as a
whole…
4-19-2012
Get the full picture
about the
SSPX with this select group of informative conferences
and articles
