On June 30, 1988, Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre, without Vatican authorisation, consecrated four priests to the episcopate: Bernard Fellay, Bernard Tissier de Mallerais, Richard Williamson and Alfonso de Galarreta. The consecrations were for Lefebvre’s Society of Saint Pius X (SSPX), a traditionalist Catholic priestly society he founded in 1970, known for its adherence to pre-Vatican II liturgy and teachings. By this time, the SSPX had become a well-established but rebellious faction within the Church, with the French bishops referring to the SSPX seminary in Écône, Switzerland, as the "séminaire sauvage"—the wildcat seminary.
9:34 AM
The SSPX's bishop problem
on june 30, 1988, archbishop marcel lefebvre, without vatican authorisation, consecrated four priests to the episcopate: bernard fellay, ber...
Thomas Edwards
6 min read
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