I'm gonna guess Xavier means +Lefebvre was an authority in a less formal sense. Like "he's a wise, learned man who knows more than we do"
Sure, I get that. But my point is that +ABL isn't the only wise, learned man who rejected V2 and the new mass in the 60s. The world was filled with courageous, wise clerics who rejected new-rome and started Tradition. And there are still many today of +ABL's caliber, like the Traditional monks in Europe, Fr Cyprian's monks in NM, many of the Pius V bishops/priests, and, of course, +Williamson.