Society of Saint Pius X facts for kids

Kids Encyclopedia Facts

The Society of Saint Pius X is a fraternity of priests with traditionalist views. Marcel Lefebvre, a French priest founded it in the 1970s, because he thought that the Second Vatican Council had given up many of the these traditions. It is against many of the changes the Second Vatican Council introduced, namely the dialogue with leaders of other religions and the communal relation of different Christian groups. Since 1975, the Society of Saint Pius X no longer has canonical mandate. In 1988, the society consecrated new bishops, which by canonical law, led to the excommunication of those consecrating, and those consecrated. Pope Benedict XVI annulled the excommunications in the 2000s, after all involved affirmed that the Pope was the head of the Catholic Church.

Images for kids

Lefebvre, the society's founder, celebrating Tridentine Mass
The society's first seminary, the International Seminary of Saint Pius X, in Écône, Switzerland. As of 2021^[update], the society has 6 seminaries – apart from Switzerland in Germany, France, Argentina, Australia, and United States.
Veldhoven, Archbishop Lefebvre giving Communion assisted by Father Franz Schmidberger
Saint-Nicolas-du-Chardonnet, Paris, occupied by the SSPX since 1977
St. Willibrord's Church, Utrecht, Netherlands, operated by the SSPX since 2015
Minoritenkirche, Vienna, Austria, received by the SSPX as a gift in 2021
A liturgy held at the society's St. Jude's Chapel, Philadelphia, U.S.

All content from Kiddle encyclopedia articles (including the article images and facts) can be freely used under Attribution-ShareAlike license, unless stated otherwise. Cite this article:

Society of Saint Pius X Facts for Kids. Kiddle Encyclopedia.