Rorate Caeli

Papally Approved? Unexpectedly, a New Bishop for the Society of Saint Pius X


Just a couple of weeks ago, Rorate posted an analysis of Pope Francis' moves regarding the Society of Saint Pius X (FSSPX / SSPX): The Vatican and the SSPX - Prospects for 2019.

In it, our guest contributor revealed that the Pope and the SSPX are fast reaching a full regularization, but "by installments".

Along with the abolition of the Pontifical Commission Ecclesia Dei, signed on January 17, and that also signals a path of "regularization by installments" of the SSPX, another piece of news dated from that same day also made clear what is going on.

From French magazine Monde & Vie:


SSPX school Institut Sancta Maria, Wangs, Switzerland
A New Bishop for the SSPX
It has been several months that Bp. [Vitus] Huonder, bishop of Chur (Switzerland), indicated his will to live out his retirement with the Society of Saint Pius X. This time, it's official. Bp. Huonder, considered a conservative, is not only a friend of the SSPX, but close to Pope Francis, who had refused his resignation in 2017 [See Rorate's post from the time.]. In other words, one can live out one's retirement with the SSPX as with any other religious congregation! According to our information, Bp. Huonder would live in retirement in a school kept by the Society in Switzerland. In short, an example of this "statute by installments" enjoyed by the Society. With the agreement of the Pope of the peripheries. There it is, an additional evidence of the regularization of the SSPX. [Monde & Vie, January 17, 2019, n. 965, p. 19]

Bishop Huonder is 76, and has wished to retire for some time -- his large diocese includes the largest city in Switzerland, Zurich, and his conservative views are not very popular with many of the more influential members of his flock.

Le Salon Beige reveals, and Rorate's sources confirm, that the school in which Bp. Vitus Huonder will live when he retires is the Institut Sancta Maria, a boarding school for boys in Wangs, in the St-Gallen canton. Le Salon Beige confirms that, of course, the pope is well informed of Bishop Huonder's choice, and tacitly approves of it.

(via Le Salon Beige)