For the reign of Christ the King

At the French Seminary in Rome, another priest, Fr. Marc Voegtli, also left a profound impression on the seminarians.

Integrity of the priesthood

Marcel Lefebvre engraved on his soul this unifying doctrine, which he then transmitted to his Society: “My dear friends, you will preach Our Lord Jesus Christ with all your heart.

Masonic program

Following the line of reasoning of Fr. Nicolas Deschamps, whose book was read in the refectory, the seminarians at Santa Chiara [1] learned the 3 stages of the revolution desired by Freemasonry:

  1. dethrone Christ by the secularity of the State,
  2. destroy the Sacrifice of the Mass by the laicization of priests,
  3. and finally destroy the life of Christ in souls by their secularization.[2]

They saw that revolution unfolding in the city and in the Church, and they were prepared to set up roadblocks against it.

Marcel Lefebvre priestly program

From then on his plans as a priest were all set: to counteract the revolution, first by celebrating Mass, the expiatory sacrifice of Calvary continued on the altar; then through the Mass to make an elite group of Christians live in the state of grace; and finally, through that elite, in civil society, to crown Jesus Christ, Christ the King.

  • 1. The Church of Santa Chiara was assigned to the French Seminary Pius IX in 1856.
  • 2. Fr. Denis Fahey, C.S.Sp., Apologia pro vita mea, cited in Tissier de Mallerais, op. cit., pp. 37-38.