The Superior General

The Superior General governs and manages the Society. Together with his two Assistants, he is elected by the General Chapter for a twelve-year term of office.

His primary mission is to do whatever he deems useful to safeguard, maintain and increase a great generosity, a deep spirit of faith, and a burning zeal for the service of Mother Church and of souls in all the members of the Society.

Within the Society, he fosters the blossoming of priestly virtues and the safeguard of a lively faith enlightened by the Magisterium of the Church. He helps the faithful to strengthen and defend their Catholic Faith.

The first Superior General of the Society of St. Pius X was its founder, Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre (1970-1982). The second Superior General was Fr. Franz Schmidberger (1982-1994).

Presently, the third Superior General is Bishop Bernard Fellay, elected in 1994, and re-elected in 2006 for a second term of office.