Following the video on the origin of the Society of Saint Pius X, in this video we are going
to present the most recent years of its history.
For years, the Society of Saint Pius X has been the spearhead of the defense of Tradition
within the Catholic Church.
However, it is not without challenges.
It was evident that despite the encouraging beginning of the Society of Saint Pius X,
problems would soon arise.
The liberal faction in Rome was determined to put an end to any seminary forming priests
to offer the traditional Latin Mass.
Despite the favorable review of visitors sent by Rome, Archbishop Lefebvre was soon called
to Rome to be interviewed by three cardinals.
A few weeks later, the new bishop of Fribourg suddenly suppressed the Society of Saint Pius
X on May 6, 1975.
Shocked, the archbishop asked for the reasons behind this drastic act and also issued an
official appeal to Rome.
Neither Fribourg nor Rome responded.
That summer Archbishop Lefebvre led his seminarians on pilgrimage to Rome as a sign of his attachment
to the Holy See.
Deeply saddened by this abrupt suppression and inexplicable silence, the archbishop decided
that he must continue the formation of his seminarians at Econe; after all, canon law
stipulated that no such suppression or suspension would take force while an official appeal
was left unresolved, much less unanswered.
So in 1976 he ordained 13 priests as scheduled.
To these ordinations Rome answered with suspending his faculty to ordain priests and to perform
all sacred functions, including offering Mass.
The Society of Saint Pius X, despite these oppositions, grew rapidly.
New seminaries were opened in Germany, America, Argentina and Australia.
Religious brothers, sisters, and lay third order members joined its swelling ranks; by
1987, the Society of Saint Pius X had spread its apostolate to every continent in the world.
In front of the increasing confusion brought by the reforms, Archbishop Lefebvre, after
repeated but ultimately unfruitful negotiations with Rome, decided in 1988 to consecrate four
new bishops to continue ordaining priests and give confirmation in the Traditional rite.
He held that Rome had agreed to the consecrations in principle, but were stalling over the details.
In response, the pope issued an official document excommunicating the archbishop along with
these four new bishops.
This greatly saddened the archbishop, but he firmly believed that he could not in good
conscience have acted otherwise and was bound, for the love of the Church, to provide for
the preservation of the Society of Saint Pius X and its worldwide apostolate.
Archbishop Lefebvre died three years later on March 25\super th\nosupersub 1991.
The Society of Saint Pius X continued its apostolate according to the constitutions
approved by the Church.
In 1994 Bishop Bernard Fellay was elected superior general, a position which he still
holds today.
Notably, in the jubilee year 2000 he led his priests, religious, and seminarians on a pilgrimage
to Rome, as a way of thereby expressing love and respect for the Holy Father.
Pope Benedict XVI later stated in a 2007 document entitled Summorum pontificum that the Latin
Mass had never been abrogated and, in 2009, lifted the excommunications issued against
the four Society of Saint Pius X bishops.
Today, the Society of Saint Pius X numbers around 600 priests and close to half a million
faithful spread throughout the world and successfully continues its apostolic work.
For further information and insight on this question, we recommend to watch the DVD: Forty
Years of Fidelity, A History of The Society of St. Pius X and to listen to the 2010 Conference
Audio: The Defense of Tradition, which can be found at Angeluspress.org.
Another great source we recommend is to read Most Asked Questions of the SSPX and The Best
of Questions and Answers also available at Angeluspress.org To learn more, go to sspx.org
and subscribe to our email list.