Marcel Lefebvre

Marcel Lefebvre was a French Catholic archbishop who greatly influenced modern traditional Catholicism. He was ordained a priest in 1929 and joined the Holy Ghost Fathers for missionary work in Africa. He was appointed as the vicar apostolic of Dakar, Senegal, in 1947 and later as the apostolic delegate for French-speaking Africa. He became the archbishop of Dakar in 1955 and the superior general of the Holy Ghost Fathers in 1962. He participated in the Second Vatican Council (1962-1965) but opposed many of its reforms, especially those concerning religious liberty, ecumenism, and liturgy. He formed a conservative group of bishops called the Coetus Internationalis Patrum to resist the changes. After the council, he criticized the pope and the bishops for deviating from the traditional doctrine and discipline of the Church. He founded the Society of Saint Pius X (SSPX) in 1970, a priestly fraternity dedicated to preserving the Latin Mass and opposing the innovations of Vatican II. He also established seminaries, schools, and missions around the world under his authority. He clashed with the Vatican over his refusal to accept the new Mass and other reforms. He was suspended from his functions in 1976 for celebrating a Mass without permission. In 1988, he consecrated four bishops without the consent of Pope John Paul II, which resulted in his excommunication and that of the bishops. He died of cancer in 1991 in Martigny, Switzerland. He is buried in a crypt beneath his seminary in Écône. His followers consider him a defender of the Catholic faith and a martyr for tradition. His opponents regard him as a schismatic and a rebel against the Church's authority. His legacy is still controversial and divisive among Catholics today.