Richard N. Williamson (born 1940 in London, England) converted to Catholicism in 1971, from the Church of England, was ordained a priest of the Catholic Church by by Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre in 1976. Richard Williamson was one of four Catholic priests consecrated by French Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre (1905-1991) and Brazilian Bishop Antônio de Castro Mayer (1904-1991) in 1988. Williamson at age 48, — who was Lefebvre’s choice to be one of the four auxiliary bishops consecrated for the Society of St. Pius X. Spanish priest Alfonso de Galarreta, age 67, Swiss priest Bernard Fellay, age 66, and French priest Bernard Tissier de Mallerais, who died last year at the age of 79, were also consecrated at the time. The consecration caused the Vatican to issue a decree stating that those involved had incurred an automatic excommunication. The SSPX contested the validity of that pronouncement and in 2009 Benedict XVI lifted the excommunication. The Society of Saint Pius X, SSPX, expelled Bishop Williamson following his public comments on the Holocaust. (see more below)
SSPX Announcement: Passing of Bishop Richard Williamson
We learn with deep sorrow that Bishop Richard Williamson has been called to God yesterday, 29 January 2025, at 11.23pm.
Following a cerebral hemorrhage, he was rushed to hospital on the evening of January 24, after having received extreme unction. He was 84 years old, having been born on March 8, 1940.
Ordained to the priesthood by Archbishop Lefebvre on June 29, 1976, he taught at the seminary in Weissbad for a year, then at Écône for five years. After a year as vice rector in Ridgefield, he directed the seminary in the United States for twenty years, then in Argentina for six, before retiring to England.
Consecrated bishop on June 30, 1988, he also served as the Society’s second Assistant General between 1988 and 1994.
Sadly, his path and that of the Society separated many years ago.
We recommend the eternal rest of his soul to your fervent prayers.
R.I.P.
In 2012 the SSPX Released concerning Bishop Williamson's Removal:
October 24, 2012 S Bishop Richard Williamson, who for the past few years had distanced himself from the lineage and authorities of the FSSPX and refused to show respect and obedience to his legitimate superiors, was expelled from the Society of St. Pius X by decision of the Superior General and his Council on October 4 of this year. The bishop was given a deadline by which he was to make a declaration of obedience, after which he announced the publication of an “open letter” calling on the Superior General to announce his resignation. This painful decision was necessary out of concern for the common good of the Priestly Society of St. Pius X and to ensure its good governance, in accordance with the words of Archbishop Lefebvre: "This is the destruction of authority. How can it be exercised if one must ask all the members to share in its exercise?"
Menzingen, 24 October 2012
Statement by SSPX in 2010 on Bishop Williamson's Conviction:On 16 April the Local Court of Regensburg condemned Bishop Richard Williamson to pay a fine of 10,000 euros for “incitement to racial hatred,” because of his remarks of January 2009 on Swedish television about the existence of gas chambers and the number of Jews who perished in the concentration camps.
His lawyer, Matthias Lossmann, pleaded for acquittal on the grounds that Bishop Williamson had warned the Swedish journalists of the consequences for him if his remarks were broadcast in Germany, where “Holocaust denial” is a criminal offense. He thought that his interviewers would respect his concern and that the program would not be broadcast outside of Sweden or on the Internet. But the bishop “fell into the trap,” the lawyer emphasized. Karin Frahm, the Regensburg trial judge, declared that the Holocaust had been intentionally denied on German soil by Bishop Williamson, and thought that he should have expected that his comments would be broadcast in Germany.
Sources: https://stmarcelinitiative.com/about-bishop-williamson/ General House – FSSPX.News) https://fsspx.news/en/news/communique-general-house-50222
https://fsspx.news/en/news/germany-bishop-williamson-convicted-10212
Comments