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The '''Society of St. Pius X''' is an international society made up of traditional [[Roman Catholic]] clergy. Founded with canonical approval in 1970<ref>http://www.sspx.org/SSPX_FAQs/appendix_iii_history_1.htm</ref> by the late Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre, it is the largest traditional Catholic group in operation and currently administers the Sacraments in over 27 countries. There is much dispute regarding accusations of schism due Archbishop Lefebvre’s decision to consecrate 4 Bishops in 1988, disregarding the command of [[Pope John Paul II]].
The '''Society of St. Pius X''' is an international society made up of traditional [[Roman Catholic]] clergy. Founded with canonical approval in 1970<ref>http://www.sspx.org/SSPX_FAQs/appendix_iii_history_1.htm</ref> by the late Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre, it is the largest traditional Catholic group in operation and currently administers the Traditional Sacraments in over 27 countries. There is much dispute regarding accusations of schism due Archbishop Lefebvre’s decision to consecrate 4 Bishops in 1988, disregarding the command of [[Pope John Paul II]].
==Creation and Beginnings==
The Society of St. Pius X originated as a reaction to the reforms of the Second Vatican Council within the Catholic Church. In 1968, a group of French seminarians, concerned with the orthodoxy of their priestly training, as well as being scandalised by the overt Communism they percieved to have infected much of the clergy<ref>http://www.sspx.org/SSPX_FAQs/appendix_iii_history_1.htm</ref> sought out the then-recently retired French Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre, with the request that he adopt the task of overseeing their priestly formation. Originally reluctant due to his age, Archbishop Lefebvre eventually relented, realizing that it would symbolize an abandonment of Church tradition if he abandoned the pleading seminarians. Thus, International Priestly Society of St. Pius X was unofficially created.
In 1970, the Bishop of Lausanne, Geneva, and Fribourg, His Excellency Bishop Charriere, officially recognized the canonical validity of the new Society.<ref>http://www.sspx.org/SSPX_FAQs/q1_sspx.htm</ref> At the same time, a Swiss layman offers his property in Econe to the Archbishop as a seminary for future priests.
The canonical status was confirmed on February 18, 1971 by the prefect for the Sacred Congregation for the Clergy, Cardinal <ref>Wrighthttp://www.sspx.org/SSPX_FAQs/appendix_iii_history_1.htm</ref>, who praised the society statues and recognised it as an international Catholic society with the power to incardinate its clergy. Thus, the Society became legally recognised as a legitimate Catholic society, unable to be suppressed without a genuine reason or following strict canonical procedures.