Catholic Family News

SSPX General Chapter Elects Italian Priest as New Superior General

On the first day of the Society of Saint Pius X’s General Chapter in Ecône, a new Superior General was chosen from among the ranks of the Society’s 637 priests. An official communiqué released earlier today related the following details:

On July 11, 2018, Father Davide Pagliarani was elected Superior General, for a mandate of 12 years, by the 4th General Chapter of the Society of Saint Pius X.

The new Superior General is 47 years old and is of Italian nationality. He received the sacrament of Holy Orders from the hands of Bishop Bernard Fellay in 1996. He exercised his apostolate in Rimini (Italy), then in Singapore, before being appointed Superior of the District of Italy. Since 2012, he was Rector of Our Lady Co-Redemptrix Seminary of La Reja (Argentina).

After accepting his office, the elected pronounced the Profession of Faith and took the Anti-Modernist Oath at the seminary church. Then, each of the members present came before him to promise their respect and obedience, before singing the Te Deum in thanksgiving.

The 41 capitulants will proceed tomorrow with the election of the two Assistants General, for the same mandate of 12 years. The Chapter will continue until July 21st  at the Seminary of St. Pius X of Ecône (Switzerland).

Although the election of the First and Second Assistants was originally supposed to take place tomorrow, a second communiqué announced that the new Superior General, together with his fellow members of the General Chapter, chose to proceed ahead of schedule:

Just as the day was coming to an end, the new Superior General of the Society of Saint Pius X, Father Davide Pagliarani, and the 40 other capitulants have decided to proceed to the election of the two General Assistants.

The 1st Assistant elected is Bishop Alfonso Galarreta, auxiliary bishop of the Society, of Spanish nationality. Aged 61, he was ordained priest in 1980 at Buenos Aires, Argentina, where he lived for a certain time. In the past he has held the roles of Rector of Our Lady Co-Redemptrix Seminary at La Reja, Argentina, and superior of the Autonomous House of Spain and Portugal. He was 2nd Assistant of the Society from 2002 to 2006. Until now, he resided in Geneva, Switzerland.

The 2nd Assistant elected is Father Christian Bouchacourt, of French nationality. Aged 59, he was ordained priest in 1986 by Archbishop Lefebvre. For a long time he was stationed in Paris, especially at Saint-Nicolas du Chardonnet, before becoming District Superior of South America and then, in 2014, District Superior of France.

Now that these elections have taken place, the General Chapter will be able to address the numerous questions which have been proposed for discussion, until July 21st, 2018.

New SSPX Superior General, Fr. Davide Pagliarani (center), with new First and Second Assistants, Bishop Alfonso Galarreta (left) and Fr. Christian Bouchacourt, respectively.

For more information on the General Chapter, see CFN Editor-in-Chief Brian McCall’s interview of Fr. Niklaus Pfluger, former First Assistant to Bishop Bernard Fellay. CFN will continue to follow developments of the SSPX General Chapter and report them as they become available.

In the midst of this momentous transition, let us give thanks to God for Bishop Fellay’s twenty-four years of faithful service as General Superior and pray earnestly for Fr. Pagliarani as he assumes this daunting office, as well as for the success of the remainder of the General Chapter. May we always remember that “A Society Divided Against Itself” cannot stand.

Our Lady, Seat of Wisdom, pray for us!

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Matt Gaspers

Matt Gaspers is the Managing Editor of Catholic Family News. He was asked by John Vennari (1958-2017), longtime Editor of CFN and stalwart defender of the Faith, to carry on CFN’s important work shortly before Mr. Vennari’s passing. In addition to writing for CFN, Mr. Gaspers has also been published by The Fatima Crusader, OnePeterFive, and LifeSiteNews. His study and writing interests include theology, Church history, Fatima, Islam, and the spiritual life. He has spoken at conferences hosted by Catholic Family News and the Fatima Center. He and his wife, together with their children, reside in Colorado.

Matt Gaspers

Avatar photo

Matt Gaspers is the Managing Editor of Catholic Family News. He was asked by John Vennari (1958-2017), longtime Editor of CFN and stalwart defender of the Faith, to carry on CFN’s important work shortly before Mr. Vennari’s passing. In addition to writing for CFN, Mr. Gaspers has also been published by The Fatima Crusader, OnePeterFive, and LifeSiteNews. His study and writing interests include theology, Church history, Fatima, Islam, and the spiritual life. He has spoken at conferences hosted by Catholic Family News and the Fatima Center. He and his wife, together with their children, reside in Colorado.