Marcel Lefebvre

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His Grace, The Most Reverend Marcel Lefebvre FSSPX
Archbishop-Bishop Emeritus of Tulle
Archbishop Lefebvre, c. 1962.
See	Tulle
Appointed	23 January 1962
Term ended	7 August 1962
Predecessor	Aimable Chassaigne
Successor	Henri Clément Victor Donze
Other post(s)	Founder and Superior General of the Society of Saint Pius X (1970–1982)
Previous post(s)	Vicar Apostolic of Dakar (1947–1955) Titular Bishop of Anthedon (1947–1948) Apostolic Administrator of Saint-Louis du Sénégal (1948–1955) Titular Archbishop of Arcadiopolis in Europa (1948–1955) Apostolic Delegate of French Africa (1948–1959) Archbishop of Dakar (1955–1962) Superior General of Congregation of the Holy Ghost (1962–1968) Titular Archbishop of Synnada in Phrygia (1962–1970)
Orders
Ordination	21 September 1929 by Achille Liénart
Consecration	18 September 1947 by Achille Liénart
Personal details
Born	Marcel-François Marie Joseph Lefebvre (1905-11-29)29 November 1905 Tourcoing, France
Died	25 March 1991(1991-03-25) (aged 85) Martigny, Switzerland
Buried	International Seminary of Saint Pius X, Écône, Switzerland
Nationality	French
Denomination	Catholic
Parents	René Lefebvre (Father) Gabrielle Watine (Mother)
Alma mater	(Pontifical) French Seminary, Rome
Motto	Et nos credidimus caritati (And we believed in charity)[1]
Coat of arms
Ordination history
History Priestly ordination Ordained by Achille Liénart Date 21 September 1929 Episcopal consecration Principal consecrator Achille Liénart Co-consecrators Alfred-Jean-Félix Ancel [fr], Jean-Baptiste Victor Fauret [fr] Date 18 September 1947
Episcopal succession Bishops consecrated by Marcel Lefebvre as principal consecrator Georges-Henri Guibert 19 February 1950 Prosper Dodds [fr] 26 October 1952 François Ndong [fi] 2 July 1961 Bernard Tissier de Mallerais 30 June 1988 Richard Williamson 30 June 1988 Alfonso de Galarreta 30 June 1988 Bernard Fellay 30 June 1988

Styles of Marcel Lefebvre
Reference style	His Excellency
Spoken style	Your Excellency

Marcel François Marie Joseph Lefebvre^[a] FSSPX (29 November 1905 – 25 March 1991) was a French Catholic prelate who served as Archbishop of Dakar from 1955 to 1962. He was a major influence in modern traditionalist Catholicism, founding in 1970 the Society of Saint Pius X (SSPX) to train traditionalist seminarians. In 1988, Pope John Paul II declared that Lefebvre had been automatically excommunicated for consecrating four bishops that year without permission and despite the pope's express prohibition.^[2]

Ordained a diocesan priest in 1929, Lefebvre joined the Holy Ghost Fathers for missionary work and was assigned to teach at a seminary in Gabon in 1932. In 1947, he was appointed Vicar Apostolic of Dakar, and the next year as the apostolic nuncio to French West Africa. Upon his return to Europe, Lefebvre was elected superior general of the Holy Ghost Fathers and assigned draft and prepare documents for the Second Vatican Council. He was a major leader of the conservative bloc during its proceedings. He later took the lead in opposing certain changes associated with the council. He refused to implement council-inspired reforms demanded by the Holy Ghost Fathers and resigned from the order in 1968.

In 1970, Lefebvre founded the SSPX as a small community of seminarians in the village of Écône, Switzerland, with the permission of the local bishop. In 1975, after a flare of tensions with the Holy See, Lefebvre was ordered to disband the society, but ignored the decision and continued to maintain its activities and existence. In 1988, against the express prohibition of Pope John Paul II, he consecrated four bishops to continue his work with the SSPX. The Holy See immediately declared that all parties in the ceremony had incurred automatic excommunication,^[b] which Lefebvre refused to acknowledge.^[3][4]

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