Catholic Tradition in Africa, #10 - Society of St. Pius X

virtues!
Our gratitude extends also to all those who, since the
beginning, helped the opening, the development and the
expansion of the Mission. To list them all would be
impossible, the list would be too long and we could not
include those anonymous helpers whose work was
invisible. It was their prayers, their sacrifices, and their
donations that contributed immeasurably before God to
the development of this magnificent work.
To all our gratitude is shown. Let us all ask God the
grace to not forget the blessings received that many others
did not have the opportunity to receive.
“What could I return for all these blessings?” To be
perfect in gratitude, a Catholic must return to the giver
even more than he has received. But can we? Yes, we can!
We can multiply what we received in the same way that the
good and faithful servant multiplied the talents he had
received. We must not bury what we receive, nor keep it
TCA: Father, could you tell us why Archbishop
Lefebvre wanted to found the SSPX's first mission in
Gabon? Why not in Senegal? Why not in
Madagascar? The Archbishop knew these
countries well, and others, too, in Africa, that were
under his jurisdiction when he was Pope Pius
XII's Apostolic Delegate.
Fr. Groche: Before deciding to establish the
Society in Gabon, Archbishop Lefebvre took a long
trip around Africa and visited Senegal, the Ivory
Coast, Cameroon and Gabon. That was in January
1985. I remember it well because he asked me to
accompany him, along with Mr. Marcel Pedroni and
his wife. We met with several different important
people, such as Cardinal Thiandoum in Senegal. It
became clear that of all the countries we visited, the most
welcoming one was Gabon.
I have to say that the Lefebvre name was well known in
Gabon. The young Fr. Marcel had spent 13 years there. The
for personal gain. We must multiply the good and pass it
on.
That has already been started by the beautiful priestly
and religious vocations which have sprouted at the
Mission. But it must also continue by the example of a
holy life of each member of the Saint Pius X Mission, by
multiplying the number of true Christian families where
the Commandments of God are respected and where a
catholic education is provided to all the children so that
they become strong in the practice of their Catholic Faith.
These vocations, these exemplary Christians, these
Christian families will attract other souls to the True Mass,
to the true Catholic teachings, to the true love of Our
Lord Jesus Christ and will be the expansion and the sign
of the Saint Pius X Mission for the future.
May God bless the next 25 years of the Saint Pius X
Mission, by the hands of his most Holy Mother, Mary! �
Interview with Fr Patrick Groche,
founder of the St Pius X Mission
by Father Martin de Clausonne
Archbishop's older brother, Fr. René, also a Holy Ghost
Father, had spent almost 40 years of his missionary life
there. He was a great builder, a great athlete and soccer
coach, and they named the capital's first stadium after
him: “the Reverend Father Lefebvre Stadium.”
In Libreville, Bishop François N'Dong was the first
Gabonese bishop and one of Fr. Marcel's former
students. He received the episcopate from
Archbishop Lefebvre's hands! Bishop N'Dong had
written to Archbishop Lefebvre to invite him and
to ask him to send priests, for there were hardly any
priests left in Gabon. The aging Holy Ghost
Fathers were returning to France.
Thanks to Bishop N'Dong's influence, Archbishop
Lefebvre was graced with an audience with President
Omar Bongo Odimba, in Libreville. The President
indicated that he had no problem with a future
establishment in Gabon. As a mark of gratitude to
Archbishop Lefebvre for having been the professor of the
first three Gabonese bishops, during his time as superior of
2012 - No 10 3
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