Archbishop Lefebvre at Saint Mary's

17- 20 May 1984

by Mary E. Gentges

For everyone at St. Mary's College, it was a privilege to have His Grace, Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre for a recent visit. He arrived Thursday, May 17th, in the afternoon of a perfect late spring day, a day of blue sky and billowing clouds above the sunlit green of the fields—a pastoral evening to welcome a great pastor of souls. Many parishioners first glimpsed His Grace when they came to the chapel for evening Rosary and Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament. Father Richard Williamson, Rector of St. Thomas Aquinas Seminary at Ridgefield, Connecticut, had arrived with the Archbishop, and was the officiant, with His Grace attending in the sanctuary. As the late evening light slanted into the Chapel and the birds sang outdoors, the people felt a great peace and joy at having the Archbishop among them once again since his last visit a year-and-a-half ago.

For this writer, many memories came to mind of Archbishop Lefebvre's first official visit to St. Mary's five years ago, during the first Pilgrimage. One could not help but think of the tremendous growth and development that has taken place here during those five years. The Academy, then only in the fledgling stage, now has nearly 200 students from all parts of the United States, and from several foreign countries as well. Then, the College was a mere dream; but now it has graduated its first class.

The growth has not only been physical, but spiritual also. The Archbishop was very pleased with the spiritual formation of the students, the interior life, the good discipline, the atmosphere of St. Mary's and its fruits—all of which are carefully shepherded by Father de la Tour with the aid of Fr. Hunter and Fr. DeLallo, the Sisters of the Society, and the Brothers. Pleased with the growing ability of the students in Gregorian Chant, His Grace also enjoyed the non-liturgical music he heard during his visit: the singing of folk songs. Singing is very important to the happiness of the students for it draws people together in good spirit.

The Archbishop said he saw a great peace on the faces of the people of St. Mary's and he enjoyed the visit in the relaxing atmosphere.

On Friday morning the very busy weekend got underway. After chanting the office of Prime in the Chapel with the priests and sisters, Archbishop Lefebvre celebrated Pontifical Low Mass. But for the four candles instead of only two, and the assistance of two priests in surplices, the Mass could have been that of a humble country priest anywhere in the world. What a joy for the people to receive Holy Communion from His Grace.

After meetings throughout the day with the educators and administrators of St. Mary's, His Grace took time out in the afternoon to attend the formal reception of six Boy Scouts into the "tenderfoot" rank of the campus Boy Scout Troop 95, "Knights of the Sacred Heart." Father de la Tour, once a Scout himself, sees scouting as an excellent means (in conjunction with the Mass, Sacraments and Catholic life of the Academy) to form strong and chivalrous young men. Archbishop Lefebvre himself has said, "[Catholic] scouting has been a remarkable source of Christian generosity. It formed numerous vocations ... therefore, I can do nothing but encourage Boy Scouts who put at the heart of their formation the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass."

One by one, each of the six Scouts advanced and stood before the Scout Master. With his hand on the red and white Sacred Heart troop flag, each made his Scout Oath, which is, in a certain sense, a renewal of baptismal vows. Each boy promised to do his duty to God, the Catholic Church, and his country; to help other people and to keep himself physically strong, mentally awake, and morally straight. Each kissed the Archbishop's ring and received a personal blessing. The Archbishop spoke to them briefly, reminding them that they had taken an oath that was not to be taken lightly, but was a serious promise made to God to be a good Catholic. One could not help but be proud of the boys, as thirty of them in the scout uniforms lined up, and, joined by Father de la Tour, sang for His Grace the spirited troop song and the Regina Coeli, concluding with three rousing "hip-hip-hooray's" in honor of Archbishop Lefebvre.

Friday evening found the campus McCabe Theater packed with parishioners and guests as the Academy and College students and the choir put on a lively program for the Archbishop, Father Williamson and Father Bourrnaud. Selections varied from "Home on the Range" performed by the kindergarten class in cowboy hats to Tu es Sacerdos sung by the choir in honor of the Archbishop. The program provided a sampling of the many activities of the campus. High school girls, who have been learning folk dancing, sang folk songs and performed a folk dance. Boys of the scout troop gave a funny skit based on their recent outing in New Mexico, while other high school boys of the basketball team presented on the stage a snappy drill of basketball skills—showing how Father de a Tour also uses team sports to build young men.

Students from fifth grade through college gave a demonstration of an oral Latin class. Increasing familiarity with Latin on campus—part of our Catholic heritage—results in a better understanding and appreciation of the prayers, hymns, and chants of the Mass. This would be demonstrated Sunday when the student body would sing Gregorian Mass VIII, Mass of the Angels, for the High Mass.

Archbishop Lefebvre—who had smiled throughout the program—stood at the end to say a few words and quipped, "Your Latin is better than my English!" Hardly—for his English is getting better all the time!

He commented on the good family spirit he had observed during the program, the good spirit of family in the students and parishioners. "I thank God for this good spirit" he said and promised, "I will pray for you all at the Mass tomorrow."

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Though on Saturday the beautiful weather changed to rain, the activities of the busy day went on as planned, beginning with the Pontifical High Mass celebrated by His Grace with the assistance of Father Williamson, Father Bourmaud as deacon, Father DeLallo as subdeacon, Fathers Hunter and de la Tour also in attendance in the sanctuary, and over a dozen servers, including mitre-bearer and crozier-bearer. The boys beautifully performed the intricate ceremonies of serving a Pontifical High Mass as the choir intoned the Mass in four parts, Missa Brevis, as well as Marian hymns and the triumphant Regina Coeli.

In his sermon, His Grace encouraged the parents, knowing they had come from many states to have their children confirmed. He encouraged them in the situation of the Church, and posed the question: "What can we do?"

"Firstly," he said, "we must pray; that is the first thing. With human power we can do nothing. With the grace of God perhaps we can hope that God will give a good solution to this crisis of the Church, of His Church. We must pray!"

His Grace went on to enumerate the four ends of prayer and to explain why the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass is the best prayer. He also encouraged the praying of the Rosary, urging our confidence in Our Lady and her Divine Son, who have the solution to the present situation, a solution we must pray to arrive soon.

Saturday afternoon was the time of the Festival in the big gym—with games, booths and refreshments. The ladies of the parish, with the help of the boys, who moved in tables and hundreds of chairs, were busy all weekend keeping refreshments available in the gym.

Meanwhile, confessions were being heard in the Chapel; and in the college building a long line of 150 confirmandi were being tested by Father DeLallo.

Before conferring the Sacrament of Confirmation that Saturday afternoon, Archbishop Lefebvre addressed the 500 people filling the Chapel. He explained that since we can receive the Sacrament of Confirmation only once in our life, the day of its reception is an important one in the life of a Christian. In baptism a godparent said in our place, "I renounce Satan; I follow Jesus Christ." But in Confirmation we have the intention ourselves as we receive the Holy Ghost and His gifts. The Archbishop dwelt especially on the gift of fortitude, so necessary for fighting the evils of this world and the devil who works so hard to lead souls into mortal sin.

He emphasized that when he confirms, using the same unchanged ceremony with which he was confirmed when he was a child, there is no doubt that the children are confirmed, that they have received the Sacrament. He encouraged the confirmandi to be unafraid to profess their faith and to be true soldiers of Jesus Christ, even during this crisis of the Church, to go on expanding and continuing the Catholic Church even though it is very hard today to do so.

He congratulated the parents for giving their children the true faith, and encouraged them in these difficult times of immorality in the world to give good education to their children. He congratulated parents who have children in good Catholic schools, especially at St. Mary's where, as he said, everything possible is done to give each child a good Catholic faith and a way to sanctify the soul. He concluded by saying he was sure the Blessed Virgin was present during the Confirmation ceremonies, that she was praying for the children who received the grace of the Sacrament. He said we should pray to her for many blessings, for she is our Mother and knows all of our many needs.

Following the Confirmations, 350 people attended the banquet, skillfully prepared and swiftly served by the St. Mary's College cafeteria crew. When Father de la Tour introduced the Archbishop and asked him to say a few words, he began, "I think I speak this morning, this evening, tomorrow—too much!" But the listeners did not think Archbishop Lefebvre had been talking too much! They were pleased that he addressed them several times during his stay, and always in English.

He said, "I think that St. Mary's is going very well, and the spirit of the school, the piety of the students, the discipline of the school—I think this is going always better and better; and with the great zeal of Father de la Tour and Father DeLallo and Father Hunter, and the Sisters and Brothers, I think we can see the effect ... We must, all Traditionalists, be united in the same thinking, same doctrine, same Sacrifice of the Mass, same Sacraments, so we can do a good work and prepare for the time when Tradition returns to Rome and to the dioceses to renew the Church. That I ask of you, and I thank God and I thank you for your help here at St. Mary's. I hope that from St. Mary's we can have good vocations of priests, of religious, of sisters, of good vocations of marriage—of fathers and mothers of good families; that is very important because we cannot have the vocations for priests and for religious if we do not have good Catholic families. I thank you and I thank God."

The Academy girls, dressed in their Sunday best, filled the space in front of the head table and sang to His Grace a well-known French song in honor of Our Lady our Queen, Chez Nous Soyez Reine. The Archbishop, with tears in his eyes, joined them in singing, and afterwards received a spiritual bouquet from them.

After Saturday's rain, Sunday morning dawned clear and bright, a beautiful First Holy Communion Sunday for the twelve little children from the Academy. Close to 500 people were in attendance at the High Mass at which the Archbishop spoke in his sermon on the Holy Eucharist, explaining what a wonderful day it is when children receive Jesus in their hearts for the first time—and, not only wonderful for them, but also a source of great blessings to their families. With his characteristic devotion to Our Lady he concluded by saying, "You must ask the Mother of God, the Blessed Virgin Mary, to help you keep in your heart the Name of Jesus for all your life."

Immediately after the Mass the Archbishop baptized a newborn baby of the parish, and he officiated as the parents went to Our Lady's altar and consecrated the baby to her. This is the fourth baby to be baptized in the parish in less than a month! Certainly, St. Mary's parish is growing! The Archbishop remarked that out of these large families should come many vocations. Indeed if there was a theme for this visit of the Archbishop it is "The Family," and his approval of and encouragement of the family spirit at St. Mary's. Families came long distances to have their children confirmed—recognizing the necessity of this sacrament to fortify youth against the evils of our times. The visiting parents liked what they saw: the atmosphere, the happiness of the students—and talked with the Academy Headmaster about enrolling their children as boarding students.