Interview with Bishop Fellay in Gabon, 25th Anniversary of the Saint Pius X Mission

Good morning, your Excellency, and thank you infinitely for finding the time to free yourself from your many occupations to grant us this interview.  To begin with, we hazard this question.  This is the fifth time that you set foot in Gabon to confer the sacrament of Confirmation on the faithful of the Saint Pius X Mission.  What sentiments especially touch you?

A great joy at being able to find myself in the footsteps of our most venerated Founder, Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre.  I try, every time I set foot in your beautiful country, not only to recall but also to fill myself with the love with which he embraced you, a few decades ago.  Each time it is very moving, in a different way than in other countries, because of this return to our roots.

This Confirmation ceremony was out of the ordinary because of the number of confirmandi: about a hundred, among whom we noticed some very young, but also some men and women well advanced in age, who have been faithful of the Mission for very many years now.  May we know what you felt in seeing this category of the faithful pass in front of you?

It really was not much of a surprise, because I see the same thing everywhere.  In all our Society, we see all ages coming to be confirmed.  But let me add that, when we administer Confirmation to the workers of the eleventh hour, it is always very moving, for we see the Good Lord Who passes and comes back.  Sometimes the soul was not aware of this passage, of the Good Lord Who was knocking on the door.  But then, in the end, she answers, and God can fill her with His graces.  It is marvelous.

During your homily, you decided to insist upon the essence and the effects of Confirmation.  For the faithful who may not have followed what you said, but also for those absent, would it be possible for you to go over once again the important points of the impact of this act?

I will not repeat the sermon which was quite long.  I would just like to resume it.  To do so, I will start with the first idea: the greatness of the Good Lord's gifts, gifts that completely surpass us.  And I will even go so far as to say and to claim without fear of being mistaken that a single Confirmation is for God greater than the creation of the whole universe.  God had the goodness to lower himself to our level and to give us sensible signs by which we can be certain that we receive these gifts.  If these gifts surpass us, how can we be sure of them?  The sacrament of Confirmation is a sign that permits us to know that He has given us His gifts.  There are two things in the form of the sacrament: “I mark thee with the sign of the Cross” and “I confirm thee with the holy chrism”.  There are the gifts of the Holy Ghost that God gives to the soul, and there is the character of this sacrament that makes us soldiers of Christ.  There are therefore the gifts, but also the exigencies of Confirmation, as for the Apostles on Pentecost.

Yesterday was a special event in the life of the Saint Pius X Mission: the elevation of two ladies to the rank of Third Order members.  Can you tell us in what this consists?  Is it a sort of religious life?

No. It is not a religious life but it is the participation in certain elements of the religious life in the secular life.  It is called the Third Order because it comes after the first and the second which are religious orders.  The third is the civil order.  Those who are members of it cannot live in the religious life, but they can participate in the graces of the religious life.  We have done the same sort of thing in the Society, at the request of the faithful.  Those who are members choose to participate in the sanctification of the priests, but also to benefit from the graces that that confers.

Besides the confirmations that you have come to administer, your presence will enhance tomorrow, on June 2, the festivities marking the 25th anniversary of the founding of St. Pius X Mission in Gabon, a moment that the faithful have been eagerly anticipating.  Could you tell us, Your Excellency, your thoughts and feelings on this particular occasion?

This too is moving.  Twenty-five years is an extraordinary landmark.  On the one hand it is little, on the other hand it is a lot.  Twenty-five years is already a generation.  Compared with a human life, it is sometimes less;  compared with a society, it is relatively short, for example in a Church that is 2,000 years old.  But in the present circumstances of the Church in crisis, seeing a work that started at zero and has developed magnificently, we have to thank the Good Lord.

If Archbishop Lefebvre were here, he would be participating personally in these festivities, no doubt about it.  But he is above, in Heaven, and he is helping us.  You are his representative;  what do you remember about the circumstances of this foundation in 1986?

Monseigneur could have chosen many places to start the apostolate in central Africa.  There was already some work being done in southern Africa, but here there was nothing.  Therefore he chose Gabon.  He could have chosen to start in Dakar, or Senegal, where he had been archbishop, but he preferred Gabon.  I should say that he had the support of Bishop Ndong and three bishops at the time.  They were rather supportive.  So there was an open door.  I think that that is what prompted him to begin here.  But Monseigneur followed the signs of Divine Providence.  Providence dispenses graces as it wills;  you have to follow the path.  Twenty-five years later, when we see the beauty of this mission, we see that Archbishop Lefebvre did indeed follow Divine Providence.

We know that the match was not won in advance, because of the crisis that was already brewing between the conciliar Church and the Society.  For the history books, Your Excellency, what can we recall as the major factors that made it possible to plant St. Pius X Mission in Gabon?

I think that at the outset there were those who remembered Archbishop Lefebvre.  The older ones who remembered him, the Mass, the Gregorian chant.  I remember, at the beginning, those seminarians who still knew the Mass by heart, who sang the chant propers by heart without rehearsing.  That says a lot about the beginnings.  It was necessary to have this soil that was ready.

Some even say that the Presidency of the Republic of Gabon, and specifically the Head of State at the time, Omar Bongo, had to give his clearance first.

That is true.  At one point there was a very close call, but it was an anxiety that was resolved.  During Archbishop Lefebvre’s first trip the President was the one who made his personal airplane available so that he could travel to Franceville—or to Mouila, I don’t recall—so as to visit Bishop Ndong.  In any case you see that there was benevolent support on the part of the Presidency.

St. Pius X Mission is also Father Patrick Groche, whom everyone likes to acknowledge as the builder of this work.  The little girls called him “Pappy Groche” and his shadow continues to hover over the Mission.  Many people miss him, some even mourn him.  Several years ago he was transferred to Écône [in Switzerland], where he is said to be bored.  Some people even talk about a pre-retirement position.  What is your response to them?

That he was transferred after staying for a long time here in Gabon.  He needed to catch his breath for a while.  This is why they gave him that position.  But that is a temporary situation.  This is certainly not the last we will hear about dear Father Groche.

Twenty-five years is the silver jubilee.  It is an occasion that is worth celebrating.  As soon as this phase is completed, they will have to think about their golden anniversary, 50 years.  In your opinion, what image should St. Pius X Mission reflect in 2036 when it celebrates its 50th anniversary?

It is always difficult to play the prophet.  And so I will try to avoid doing it.  But one can always express one’s wishes.  My first wish is always to do what the Good Lord wills.  There is no reason to think that our dear Lord wants anything other than the development of this missionary work.  One hopes that in 25 years they will have more priests and therefore more apostles available to the faithful;  more centers, more parishes in Libreville, and elsewhere throughout Africa;  that depends on the harvesters.  Therefore we must ask our dear Lord to send laborers into the field, for the harvest is great.

Your Excellency, allow me to finish with two questions. First, what can you say about the relations between the SSPX and Rome? Where are your contacts leading? Also, as an aside, can we hope for a normalization of the relationship in a not too distant future?

The contacts are still ongoing. We have probably reached the end of a period of discussions. It is not yet totally clear. What is going to happen? What is going to be the result of this phase? Regarding your aside: What is Rome planning for us now? We cannot deceive ourselves: we are truly in a crisis of the Church. It is certainly not over. What is our destiny in this crisis? I believe that somehow the Good Lord has tied us to this crisis. We work for the restoration of the Church, but it may still last a decade or two. We need much courage and perseverance. Our situation might be solved tomorrow and it might be solved after tomorrow. Everything is in the hands of the Good Lord. Let us simply remain faithful.

The second question regards your thoughts about the beatification of Pope John Paul II.

I have very mixed feelings. There is an impression of a major hurry, despite all the rules that the Church provides before proceeding to such an act. There is a sense of imprudence. For example, when the Church wants to beatify or to canonize, she used to examine what was said or written by the candidate very closely. In this case, however, most of what has been written is still in the secret Vatican archives which have not been opened yet. Therefore we remain ill at ease. We fear a will to seal a cause that John Paul II began and wanted to follow during his pontificate, a cause for which he wanted to be the apostle.

Your Excellency, a last word for the faithful.

Above all [keep] the Faith. "Be firm in the faith". It is what Saint Paul was already saying to his faithful. He also said : "Be faithful. Keep your traditions". Nothing is new. The best vouch for the future, is the past. The past teaches us everything, helps us in the new situations. Today, in these difficult times, I invite everyone to put oneself under the protection and the mantle of the Blessed Virgin Mary, in her Immaculate Heart. In Fatima, she wished [wanted] to introduce this devotion for the sake of the souls. Let us listen to Her.