Aviva Directory » Faith & Spirituality » World Religions » Abrahamic Religions » Christianity » Church Divisions » Catholic » Denominations » Roman Catholic » Traditionalist Catholic » Society of Saint Pius X/V

The Society of Saint Pius X is a society of priests within the Roman Catholic Church rather than a separate denomination but that claim is not recognized by the Vatican. Like the Traditionalist movement, the Society was created in opposition to changes that were made during the Second Vatican Council. The Society was founded by Archibishop Marcel Lefebvre, a priest of the Holy Ghost Order, who had been bishop of Dakar before returning to France as bishop of Tulle in 1962. A vocal opponent of the modernization that was going on within the Roman Catholic Church at the Second Vatican Council, he resigned as head of the Holy Ghost Order rather than implementing the changes that the Council asked. He established a seminary that he named the Society of Saint Pius X the following year, named for the first pope of the 20th century to be canonized, and a key figure in resisting secularization and liberalism in France. Initially supported by the Vatican, it was suppressed in 1975. In defiance of the Vatican, Lefebvre ordained twelve traditionalist priests over the following year. The chief focus of the work of the Society is to promote the traditional Latin mass. In the view of the Society of Saint Pius X, the decrees of the Second Vatican Council corrupted the Church and the papacy. Through a grassroots campaign, priests of the Society of Saint Pius X attempt to liberate parishes from the modern mass, restoring the pre-Vatican II liturgy. Several chapels have been founded by the Society. Strongest in France, Argentina and Africa, membership in the Society is growing within the United States. As the Society does not view itself as a separate church, it does not maintain membership records, but it operates several primary schools, a college, a seminary, retreat centers and its publishing house, Angelus Press. Formed in 1983, the Society of Saint Pius V broke away from the SSPX over liturgical issues, and represents a stronger break with Rome than its predecessor.

 

 

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