Those who had the privilege of knowing Archbishop Lefebvre intimately knew that our dear founder never took the Mass and Holy Communion for a mere routine ritual which both priest and faithful went through day after day. He prepared his Mass with a proper meditation, he lived his Mass with the utmost devotion, and this intimacy with the Lord marked the rest of his day. His emphasis on the sacred mysteries was reflected in his love for the age-old rite and his deep hatred for anything aimed at diminishing it.

Explaining the spirit of the Society of Saint Pius X, Archbishop Lefebvre would stress the central place of the Eucharist in the Church and in our lives: “The Church knows how to present and make us live the mysteries of Christ in a truly divine manner, in a way that our hearts are captivated and our souls uplifted. In the liturgy all has been thought out with the love of a faithful spouse and a merciful mother. We find edification in the holy places, the ceremonies, the chant, the choice of prayers from the Missal, the Breviary, the Pontifical and the Ritual. How could a soul that lives by faith and seeks to model its faith upon that of the Church seek to desecrate all this?”

The love for the altar and Communion is the reason the Society of Saint Pius X establishes chapels worthy of the Divine Guest and worthy of the holy sacraments which take place there. Sanctity, cleanliness, beauty, and art should surround the sacred mysteries in sculpture and architecture, in liturgy and music, so that the souls are almost forced to soar towards God. “Nothing is too little, nothing insignificant in the service of such a Lord and King. Let us always remember this! It is a powerful means of apostolate. If the liturgy is, above all, the praise of the Holy Trinity, offering and sacrifice, a source of divine life, then it is also the most vibrant and effective means of catechizing. Happy the faithful who have a priest who is in love with the liturgy of the Church!” (Archbishop Lefebvre).

In Christo,

Father Jürgen Wegner
Publisher