Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre

His Grace, The Most Reverend Marcel-François Lefebvre SSPX
Archbishop-Bishop emeritus of Tulle
Lefebvre in 1981
Diocese	Diocese of Tulle
See	Tulle
Appointed	23 January 1962
Term ended	7 August 1962
Predecessor	Aimable Chassaigne
Successor	Henri Clément Victor Donze
Other posts	Founder and Superior General of the Society of Saint Pius X (1970–1982)
Orders
Ordination	21 September 1929 by Achille Liènart
Consecration	18 September 1947 by Achille Liènart
Personal details
Birth name	Marcel-François Marie Joseph Lefebvre
Born	(1905-11-29)29 November 1905 Tourcoing, France
Died	25 March 1991(1991-03-25) (aged 85) Martigny, Switzerland
Buried	International Seminary of Saint Pius X, Écône, Switzerland
Nationality	French
Denomination	Roman Catholic
Parents	René Lefebvre, Gabrielle Watine
Previous post	Vicar Apostolic of Dakar (1947–1955) Titular Bishop of Anthedon (1947–1948) Apostolic Administrator of Saint-Louis du Sénégal (1948–1955) Titular Archbishop of Arcadiopolis in Europa (1948–1955) Apostolic Delegate of French Africa (1948–1959) Archbishop of Dakar (1955–1962) Superior General of Congregation of the Holy Spirit (1962–1968) Titular Archbishop of Synnada in Phrygia (1962–1970)
Alma mater	(Pontifical) French Seminary, Rome
Motto	Credidimus caritati
Coat of arms

Marcel François Marie Joseph Lefebvre (French: [maʁsɛl fʁɑ̃swɑ maʁi josɛf ləfɛːvʁ]; 29 November 1905 – 25 March 1991) was a French Roman Catholic archbishop.

Ordained a diocesan priest in 1929, he joined the Holy Ghost Fathers for missionary work and was assigned to teach at a seminary in Gabon in 1932. In 1947, he was appointed Vicar Apostolic of Dakar, Senegal, and the next year as the Apostolic Delegate for West Africa.

Upon his return to Europe he was elected Superior General of the Holy Ghost Fathers and assigned to participate in the drafting and preparation of documents for the upcoming Second Vatican Council (1962–65) announced by Pope John XXIII, and was a major leader of the conservative bloc during its proceedings. He would later take the lead in opposing certain changes within the Church associated with the Council. Refusing to implement council-inspired reforms demanded by its members, he resigned from the leadership of the Holy Ghost Fathers in 1968.

In 1970, Lefebvre founded the Society of Saint Pius X (SSPX) as a small community of seminarians in the village of Écône, Switzerland, with the permission of Bishop François Charrière of Fribourg. In 1975, after a flare of tensions with the Holy See, Lefebvre was ordered to disband the society, but ignored the decision.