Sermon of Archbishop Lefebvre
On the occasion of the blessing of St. Pius X Priory in Shawinigan, November 8, 1977

In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Amen. My dear brethren, you can imagine with what great joy, what great satisfaction I find myself here in this Priory of St. Pius X, the first foundation of our Priestly Society of Saint Pius X in Canada. The circumstances in which things have occurred have been obviously providential and those who have in one way or another collaborated in the establishing of this Priory know that truly it is Providence, it is our dear Lord who has willed that this foundation take place and that it take place here, between these two big cities of Quebec and Montreal, and not much farther from Sherbrooke. This house moreover has already been a religious house, since I must say, I remember having visited here in nineteen hundred fifty-five when the fathers of the African Missions from Lyon were still here. I had come here to visit the Father provincial, and the novices happened to be here on that occasion. It was therefore a sign, that Providence wanted us to come here.

I think that you know what the Society of Saint Pius X is and that it has been officially recognised by the Church. It was the bishop of Fribourg whom I went to see in June of 1970, and to whom I requested the recognition of our Priestly Society at Fribourg in Switzerland, who gave me a paper on the first of November in 1970 confirming the establishment of the Priestly Society of Saint Pius X. Now, you know that when a bishop of a diocese signs a decree establishing a congregation in his diocese, he can no longer suppress it. Why? Because Rome protects congregations. When a bishop decides to establish a congregation it is not so that the following bishop, for example, suppresses it. The Bishop must have recourse to Rome to suppress a congregation and it is Rome that must take up the decree of suppression of a society, but for that there must be truly very grave causes. The society would have had to have manifested signs that were very much in contradiction with the good of the Church. So, our society has been recognised by the Bishop of Fribourg, and we have even received a letter of praise from Rome, sent by Cardinal Wright, virtually from the Congregation of the Clergy. He sent us a letter of felicitations, of praises for the establishment of our congregation, while felicitating the manner in which our statutes had been drawn up. These things are very important.

Thus it is the Church which has recognised the statutes of the Fraternity. So why then, two years after we had received this letter from Cardinal Wright, we suddenly receive a letter from Rome saying: “Your Society is suppressed, your seminary is suppressed.” And it wasn’t even a letter from Rome. It was a letter from the bishop of Fribourg. Now the bishop of Fribourg does not have the right to suppress our Society. He doesn’t have the right to be delegated by Rome. It is Rome itself, the Roman Congregation that must make the decision.

Would there be an artistry, an evil play of influence, of Satanic influence, one must say, against our society, and why? Because our society, the Priestly Society of Saint Pius X, was destined to make true priests, priests like the Church has always made. That is why it was called a Priestly Society, because the main purpose of the Society is to form priests, to form them as all the bishops had formed them. (...) There has been nothing, nothing that we have changed. Therefore why suppress this Priestly Society which was able to attract numerous vocations, not just priestly vocations, but vocations of brothers, vocations of sisters, in great numbers.

That is why, faced with the iniquity of this judgement, the invalid iniquity of this decision which has been taken against us, I believed in conscience that I could not accept it. I had not been called before a tribunal to be told that this congregation was being suppressed. They did not question me, they did not ask me anything. True, the cardinals did ask me to come to Rome, but they told me themselves: we are not a tribunal; we had simply wanted to ask you some information about your society. Therefore I was never judged, but on the other hand, I could never answer before a tribunal. I could never have a lawyer with me to defend me in a court, which is something provided for in canon law, in the law of the Church. The law of the Church is wise, (...) just as wise as the civil laws. In civil law one has the right to defend oneself when one is attacked, when a judgement must be made, when a society needs to be suppressed. I was not granted the right to defend myself.

I had tried to do so, through the Congregation of the Apostolic Signature, which was directed by Cardinal Staffa at that time. The complaint that I had made was received, but five days later, an order came: “No, we cannot study your case, the study of your case has been banned.” What had happened? Is there any justice left in Rome? It is a scandal. And it is solely because we keep to Tradition, because we do that which the Church has always done. So, in conscience I have truly believed, before God, that I could not let it go. That is why I have continued.

They want to suppress our Society, but why? Because those who from henceforth had responsibility in the Church at Rome, absolutely wished to change the orientation in the Church, to take on what they called an ecumenical orientation. What does that mean, an ecumenical orientation? You know that now there is an official ecumenical Bible. Even he who helped make the liturgical reform, Mgr. Bugnini, said that this was an ecumenical reform, done with an ecumenical intention. What does that mean? Quite simply, that we are likened to Protestants. It means nothing but that. It has been shown that we can pray with the Protestants, meet with them, have a cult with them, without the Protestants even converting. They can remain as they are.

Next they wanted to have an ecumenical Bible, but it’s a contradiction in the terms. An ecumenical Bible? What is the Bible? It is the word of God. Can one change the word of God? Can one modify the words of God? It is God who is the author of the Bible, it is God who is the author of the Holy Scriptures. That is of faith. One cannot deny it. All the Councils have affirmed it: the Council of Trent, the First Vatican Council. Who is the author of the Holy Scriptures? God Himself. Well then, how could they modify the texts to please the Protestants and to please the Catholics? A Bible cannot serve both those who have not the faith and those who have the faith.(...). One cannot change the word of Almighty God. It is not possible. These things are inadmissible!

How could that happen? Well, it’s a mystery, a mystery of iniquity, an extraordinary mystery. We live an unimaginable mystery. The devil has penetrated into the Church, Pope Paul VI himself has said it: “The smoke of Satan has entered into the Church, the Church is going to its self-destruction.” What does that mean?

But have we the right to collaborate with this self-destruction, with this smoke of Satan which has entered into the Church? No! So we refuse to collaborate. And in destroying my seminary and in not wanting anymore to form priests, I would collaborate in the self-destruction of the Church. I would collaborate in introducing Satan even more into the interior of the Church. That is evident.

What would become of my seminarians? Where would they go to be formed, in what seminary? They would no longer have them learn about the Creed, the true Creed. They would give them sociology, psychology, which no longer means anything, which leads to Marxism. They would be made to do training in factories, in agriculture, everywhere, but they would not be formed as priests. Where could these poor young men go? They would no longer know where to go. They would be deformed. Not only would they no longer be given the Faith, but their Faith would be taken from them. They would lose their Faith in the seminaries. The best proof of it is that these modern seminaries become empty. Nobody wants to go there anymore. Many, many seminaries in the world have been sold, bought over by the municipality to be made into houses for students. In Italy, in Switzerland, in France, in Germany, everywhere seminaries are being sold. They are selling convents and monasteries. The best proof is this house that we have just bought. Can we collaborate with that? It is not possible.

Precisely, we wish that the Church revive, that the Church live. And what do we do for that? We continue. It is not difficult, it is what we have always done. We don’t have to “strain at a gnat and swallow a camel”, we don’t have to beat our brains out, so to speak. What is it we will do? How can we make the Church live? As it has always been done, that is all. The Church has helped to show us the way for two thousand years. For two thousand years the Church has celebrated the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. The Holy Sacrifice of the Mass that Our Lord has preciously given us, that has been transmitted by the apostles. The prayers that we recite at the Canon are the prayers that the apostles have pronounced. All the prayers have been made through the inspiration of the Holy Ghost. We are not to change such things. We are not to modify them so as to approach the Protestants. That is not possible. We are not to change the sacraments, to make collective confessions like those that replace the sacrament of Penance. It is not possible. Neither are we to make a collective Extreme-Unction. That also is not possible. These are things that have never been done in the Church.

We cannot transform our Church and degrade it. We keep the sacraments that Our Lord Jesus Christ has given us, as the Church has always done, and as the Council of Trent, in a solemn manner, has as it were defined for always. After fifteen hundred years of religious practice, of the practice of the sacraments, of the practice of the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, a Council, a Council that was dogmatic, that had willed to define and that had placed anathemas under all the articles that it had pronounced, a Council that had been considered as one of the greatest Councils of the Church, had defined for all times, what is the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, what are the sacraments, what is the priest, the priesthood for all times. One can no longer change it. No Council, after this Council, could modify it, or the faith would no longer be possible. (...)

Seeing that, in the Council of Trent, the Church engages her infallible authority (in which the Pope, the bishops united, define the sacraments, the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, the priesthood), it is finished for all times. It is inscribed in heaven, it is inscribed in God. They are the words of God, words that are definitive. One does not change a dogma, something that is defined for all times.

Well then, we persist in these truths that are strong, as Almighty God Himself is strong. And that is why we can truly say, we have the future because we keep the past, because that has not changed. Our Lord has not changed, the Church has not changed, the sacraments have not changed, the Mass cannot change, our catechism cannot change. If we have that treasure that the Church has given to us, that Our Lord has given to us for the conversion of souls, for the salvation of our souls, and that he has given to us for two thousand years, then we can be sure that in doing what has been done for two thousand years, we will also have the future. We will at least have heaven. If we do not have, here below, the earth, well we will at least have heaven, and that is the true future.

But we are also sure that one day here below this truth will come back. It is not possible that the good Lord abandon His Church, and you are the Church. You represent the Church. That which you do here in this Priory and in all the groups that wish to maintain Tradition, that is the Church, it is the Mystical Body of Our Lord that reacts against the microbes that would like to infect them. The Mystical Body reacts, it reacts everywhere. It is not me that makes them react, it is not Archbishop Lefebvre.

They say: you are starting a movement. The press, the radio, the television ask me that constantly: how many members are in your movement? I know nothing of that, I do not have a movement. I do not start a movement. I form priests. I form seminarians. That is all that I start. I start nothing else.

But, they say, the people all over the world consult you! Ah! I say: that is something else. I do not even know them, maybe millions in the world who react in view of the degradation in the Church, in view of the disorder that has been introduced into the Church. Thus, with this sickness that has come into the Mystical Body of Our Lord, there are reactions everywhere. In all the little country villages of the world, the poor peasants react in opposition to these (modernist) priests who no longer are priests, to these sacraments that no longer are sacraments, to this Sacrifice of the Mass that is a parody of the Sacrifice of the Mass. It is normal that people would react. A healthy body like the Church cannot die, it reacts everywhere. It is not me that makes it react. Maybe after a long time they learn, ah! a bishop reacts over there with a seminary. Ah! Deo gratias. Oh, how good is the good God! Finally there is someone who has reacted for our dear Lord. They are happy, but as for me, I do not know them. We have no relations with them. Well, there is the Church, so then we must count on the union of this Church. The Lord wants it.

And that is why I continue to ordain priests. If I had not continued to ordain priests, I would not have been able to send you the Father prior who is here now. So many people ask me for priests, and I could not send them, if I had not made them. I make priests as I have always made them, as I made them before the Council. I have been a bishop now thirty years, and I do not know how many priests I have ordained. I have ordained hundreds of them. As Superior of the Congregation of the Holy Ghost, I was asked to ordain priests everywhere. When I was in Africa I was asked to come from Strasbourg as apostolic delegate to ordain priests.

I make these priests today just as I ordained them in the past. In times past we were congratulated for having made them; today we are condemned! Why? I have not changed. What is it then? It’s not possible. There is something that is not right. I continue and I will continue until the end of my days. I will continue in the Catholic faith.

“But are you disobeying the Pope?” I do not know. It’s not possible that I could disobey the Pope by doing all that the predecessors of the Pope have recommended and all that they have done. When I think that the Pope himself has been trained as I train my seminarians, and that he himself has ordained priests as I ordain them today, I could not be disobeying the Pope. He himself has ordained in this manner for a long time. At Milan, Pope Paul VI has ordained the priests as I have ordained them, as I ordain them today. This cannot be evil, this cannot be bad. That is why, there is no doubt to be had, there is no hesitation to be had.

And this is why the Society has been formed – to make priests. That is its primary purpose. Our purpose is also to give, to do ministry, insofar as we have numerous priests, to be able to fulfill the ministry for souls. Well, we do it quite willingly, and that is why I am very happy to have this house here. But I think, in fact, that this house has two purposes. It’s purpose is to be a Priory. That is to say, to unite you, to pray, to offer the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. And I hope you will become more and more numerous. (...) But it will have little by little another purpose, besides evangelization, that is to recruit vocations. This is very important.

And then, besides this and above all keep the Faith, the true Faith. In our times there is a great danger, my dear brethren, that threatens all of us traditionalists a little, we who call ourselves traditionalists, who rightly wish to keep the Tradition. There is a danger that threatens us, because the authorities in Rome, failing to do their duty, as it were, are no longer doing anything, in a mysterious, incomprehensible way, but they are no longer doing anything to truly condemn the errors, to condemn the doctrinal deviations of our faith. The Church no longer acts. Everyone is labouring in search of truth. The theologians, the priests, the bishops, are all in search of truth. And yet Rome says nothing. People can say anything; they can write anything, and there is nothing said except against the traditionalists.

But this failure of the Authority of Rome is very serious. Because this puts us in a troubled situation, in a confused situation. No wonder that even amongst the traditionalists, we are like orphans without a father. The bishops no longer do anything, the bishops no longer lead us. They no longer tell us what we must do, where is the truth and where is the error, where is the good, and where is the evil. We no longer know, the people no longer know.

So there is the tendency to be led towards this or that devotion, to be led towards this or that group who, they say, have relations with heaven, this or that person who has, they say, messages, another who would have particular inspirations. It is very dangerous. Why? Because when the bishops are there, when the bishops act as pastors of the flock, they watch. And if there is something in the flock, if a person comes to tell a bishop: I had special relations with the Blessed Virgin, the Blessed Virgin appeared to me, the Blessed Virgin told me this, Our Lord told me that, then the bishop says: well, we will examine this. I will name for you this or that canon lawyer, this or that theologian who will go to see you, who will question you, who will see if everything is correct. After six months, one year, or two years, after a very meticulous study, the bishop says yes or no. He gives a judgement. The faithful are led, they are protected.

If the apparition is real, then there is no danger for the faith, if everything in it is conformed to our faith. But if it is not conformed to the faith, the bishop must protect the flock against these things that may be diabolical, because the demon knows very well how to imitate heaven and he fools us. Nowadays there is no longer anyone to guide us, no longer anyone to judge us, so people run here and there, now they hear a rumour, then again another rumour. When that happens, we must remember the words of Our Lord: “A day will come when they will tell you: Our Lord is in the desert, Our Lord is in the city, Our Lord is here, Our Lord is there. Do not go there,” Our Lord said this. And why should you not go there? Because you do not know, you could find yourself amongst the demons. Stay, therefore, in the faith. In our times, we must keep the faith.

But where is the faith? In your catechism – it’s not difficult. Open your catechism, you have everything. The catechism is the way to heaven. It is your book that leads you to heaven. Take your Credo. You have the commandments of God and of the Church, you have the sacraments, the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, the Christian virtues, the Our Father, the devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary. With that you have everything. There is no need of anything else. That is the résumé of Tradition, it is the résumé of revelation, it is the résumé of Tradition and of the Scriptures. It is that which the apostles have put into our hands and which the bishops from generation to generation have given us. We must cling to this and beware of all the rest.

We live in a time when the demon is more powerful than ever. So we must watch out. We must watch out for all those things which are a little extraordinary that could lead us this way and that way and that could make us forget what is essential, because the devil can distract us from the faith. He wants to deceive us, so he distracts us with one thing or another, and during that time, we do not do the work that we are supposed to do. We must therefore maintain our faith. That is what I would like the priory to be also: a house where the faith is maintained.

Well then, do not be astonished if our priests are not always very enthusiastic over this or that so-called apparition, this or that place of pilgrimage. I am not speaking about the ancient shrines that have been confirmed by Tradition, such as St. Joseph in Montreal or the three great traditional shrines of Quebec. I am speaking of the new places of pilgrimage that all of a sudden spring out in one place, that are suddenly in another place, etc.

Lastly, I would like that this priory be also a priory of charity where there is love for one another, where there is not the constant seeking to defame. In this time of confusion in which we are living, in these times when there is no longer the example of charity in all the Christian communities, well, there is the temptation to always criticise another, to defame the other. Well, let us not criticise, let us do our work, say our prayers, let us receive the sacraments, let us be charitable, let us love one another. The sign that Our Lord said, by which we would be recognised if we want to be traditionalists, is that traditionalists are those who keep the faith, those who keep the virtues from all times. Our Lord said: They will recognise you because you love one another. Well, it is with this sign that we should be recognised, that the true Church should be recognized.

And if, on the other hand, one hears only mockery, criticisms, opposition, false judgement one towards another, then charity no longer exists among us. That is not Christian, that is not conformed to Tradition. Let us be charitable towards one another and this priory will always welcome everyone who would like to receive the true sacraments, to assist at the true Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, to receive counsel when they have need.

We do not wish to make of this house, a house where a very small group could unite and where all the other persons who come would be considered as lepers that need to be chased away, that cannot be there because they are not accustomed to the house. There would be twenty, thirty, forty people accustomed to the house and then all the others would be chased away. Certainly not, that would not be being a missionary. That would not be opening a heart to those who wish to profit from our teachings. There must be the missionary spirit. We want to be missionaries and we would like that everyone would follow the Catholic Church, that everyone would return to the true Catholic Church, that the bishops themselves would be obliged to say, “Ah! We are obliged to assert that now it is there that the Catholic Church is found. We cannot deny it, it’s impossible. Now our churches are closing, our seminaries are closing. We have no longer anyone to insure longevity. The villages need priests, and there aren’t any. They ask for theological instruction and they know not where to find it. They ask for catechisms, we no longer have any. And where can they be found? In the communities that strive to keep Tradition.”

But all that is finished. It is ended. Yet let this not hinder us from keeping the faith. May it not hinder us from keeping our Sacrifice of the Mass and our sacraments. Someday they will come back. We must be confident. There is no other possibility. The good Lord cannot abandon His Church.

So I am counting on you very much, and for my part, be assured that I will do all that I can so that the priory be faithful to its vocation, that is, its vocation of true evangelisation, of prayer, of faith and of charity. In proportion as we have many vocations, accordingly there will be here a major seminary, like we have now in the United States, like we have also for the German language, and then that of Ecône. We have one-hundred seminarians at Ecône, of which forty new seminarians this year. You can see that there is no lack of vocations. We have, as well, vocations for the Sisters. There were nine that entered at Saint-Michel-en-Brenne, in France. And we have Brothers, also.

Well, we also hope the same for here in Canada, in this country that was so Catholic. I remember having visited this country in nineteen hundred fifty-five. One could not enter into a Canadian home without the entire family uniting and immediately asking for the blessing of the priest or of the bishop. Everyone knelt down to receive the blessing. For me it was very moving to visit all these Canadian families and to perceive this faith, this profound faith, this respect for the priest. When the priest arrived in the house, everyone gathered together, knelt down, and first of all asked for the blessing. Isn’t that magnificent? This Canadian faith, this faith of our fathers, must be quickly revived, it must be safeguarded. It cannot be that the Canada which was so Catholic, so Christian, so fervent, be lacking in devotion. It cannot be. You have sent vocations into the entire world. I had come here to visit four major religious houses in nineteen hundred fifty-five to ask for priests, sisters and teaching brothers for Africa and many had come. I was able to have the Sacred Heart brothers from Quebec at Dakar and they are still there. Well, it is impossible that this country no longer yield vocations. So, I am persuaded that within a few years we will have many vocations and that we could, perhaps even here in this magnificent property, construct a major seminary to receive all these vocations, a major seminary which would give you priests.

During this Mass we will ask the Blessed Virgin Mary to bless us and we will pray to saint Pius X, our saintly Patron who fought so much against the errors of today, to ask him to help us and to shower us with graces. In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost. Amen.