| | [img width=180.48]https://ecp.yusercontent.com/mail?url=https%3A%2F%2Fmcusercontent.com%2F25d5549e7a08317e19779b113%2F_compresseds%2F5b90c5d7-f269-4c5e-9b70-5232faea03fc.jpg&t=1616716357&ymreqid=c6e7b7b9-95b1-37a9-2cf5-840049010000&sig=207CkI_TUebVQu4ruE5W.w--~D[/img] |
|
Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre |
|
30 Years
March 25, 1991 - March 25, 2021 |
|
30 years ago, after having lived from his episcopal motto his all life long, the former Apostolic Delegate of French Africa, Archbishop of Dakar, Superior General of Congregation of the Holy Ghost, Archbishop emeritus of Tulle, funder of the Society of Saint Pius X, gave his soul to God on March 25, 1991.
After a life of exemplary service in the Church, this retiring archbishop still had his greatest work ahead of him. His generous spirit and clear-sighted vision are still the beating heart of the SSPX today. |
|
| Marcel Lefebvre, founder of the Priestly Society of Saint Pius X, was born November 29, 1905 in the northern French town of Tourcoing. The third of eight children, Marcel grew up under the supervision of his devout Catholic parents, Rene and Gabrielle, who owned a local textile factory. |
|
| Marcel, drawn to the priesthood from his youth, followed his father’s advice and entered the French Seminary in Rome at the age of 18. Six years later he was ordained priest; shortly thereafter he completed his doctorate in theology and began pastoral work within the diocese of Lille. Fr. Lefebvre’s older brother, a missionary associated with the Holy Ghost Fathers, urged the new priest to join him in Gabon, Africa. Fr. Lefebvre eventually acquiesced and temporarily joined the Holy Ghost Fathers in 1932; he was immediately sent to Gabon, first as a seminary professor, but was soon promoted to rector. After three years of difficult missionary work, he nevertheless decided to commit himself permanently to missionary work: he made perpetual vows with the Holy Ghost Fathers. |
|
Apostolic Delegate to French Africa |
|
| Marcel Lefebvre, after these early years, was entrusted with increasingly important responsibilities. He was called back to France and made rector of a seminary in Mortain; later Pope Pius XII appointed him Apostolic Vicar of Dakar and he was thus consecrated a bishop; the following year, 1948, the pope further honored Bishop Lefebvre by naming him Apostolic Delegate to French Africa and granting him the title of archbishop. |
|
Superior General of the Holy Ghost Fathers |
|
| Pope John XXIII, like his predecessor, believed that Archbishop Lefebvre’s theological expertise, missionary experience, and background in education were of an exceptionally rare quality; the pope thus appointed him to the Preparatory Committee of the Second Vatican Council, a body charged with setting the agenda of the upcoming and much anticipated ecuмenical council. The Holy Ghost Fathers were also quite impressed with the archbishop’s work and at their General Chapter of 1962, electing him superior general. |
|
Archbishop Lefebvre was now at the height of his career. Vatican II, however, would prove for him a bitter disappointment. Most of the texts he helped prepare for the council were rejected outright and new, more liberal and modern versions were substituted in their place. In response, the archbishop along with other confused prelates formed a conservative, reactionary group called the Coetus Internationalis Patrum in which he served as chairman. This group primarily opposed the introduction of modernist tendencies into the council texts.
The Coetus was ultimately unsuccessful in countering these modernist reforms, and Archbishop Lefebvre left the council heartbroken. Additionally, the Holy Ghost Fathers, chaffing under the archbishop’s conservative leadership, essentially forced his resignation as their superior general at the General Chapter of 1968. Marcel Lefebvre was now 63 years old and, after a lifetime of service to the Church, planned to retire. |
|
 | | The declaration of 1974 |
|
Here the archbishop’s life dovetails with that of the SSPX. Following the repeated requests of several young men seeking a traditional priestly formation, Archbishop Lefebvre opened a new seminary in Econe, Switzerland. The local ordinary, Bishop Francois Charriere, gave his blessing for this work, and on November 1, 1970 the Priestly Society of St. Pius X was born with the approval of the Church.
A brief account of the history of the SSPX can be read here. One detail, however, should be added to that general account, as it pertains primarily to Archbishop Lefebvre’s involvement in the Coetus Internationalis Patrum. During the Second Vatican Council, an important friendship developed between Marcel Lefebvre and Antonio de Castro Mayer, bishop of Campos (Brazil). These two shared ideas at the various Coetus functions and kept in contact long after the close of the council. They both refused to implement the modernist teachings of Vatican II and in 1983 jointly authored an open letter to the pope lamenting the numerous errors which seemed to infect Rome. When Archbishop Lefebvre consecrated four new bishops in 1988, Bishop de Castro Mayer assisted as co-consecrator. |
|
| Archbishop Lefebvre, after guiding the SSPX for over 20 years, died on March 25, 1991. He was buried in a crypt beneath his beloved seminary at Econe. On September 24 2020, at the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the seminary of Ecône and of the SSPX, his remains were put in the crypt of the Immaculate Heart of Mary Church, still at the seminary. On his tomb are marked the words of the apostle St. Paul: "Tradidi quod et accepi" (I have transmitted what I have received) (I Cor. 15:3). |
|
 | | Video of the transfer of Archbishop Lefebvre |
|
"For the glory of the Most Blessed Trinity, for the love of Our Lord Jesus Christ, for the sake of devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary, for the love of the Church, for the love of the Pope, for the love of bishops, of priests, of all the faithful, for the salvation of the world, for the salvation of souls, keep this testament of Our Lord Jesus Christ! Keep the Sacrifice of Our Lord Jesus Christ. Keep the Mass of All Time!"
Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre |
|
|
(Sources: fsspx.ca)
(Pictures: seminary of Ecône) |
|
If you want to know more about Archbishop Lefebvre's life, do not hesitate to visit the following website:
|
|
| Or read the biography written by Bishop Tissier de Mallerais. |
|
|
|
|
Topic: 30th Anniversary of Death of +Lefebvre (Read 806 times)