Rorate has learned H. E. Bishop Bernard Tissier de Mallerais has died in Sion, Switzerland. He had been under hospital care since suffering an unfortunate fall, a few days ago.
Good and Faithful Servant: may he rest in peace!
His funeral Mass and rite of interment will take place in the Seminary of Saint Pius X, in Écône, Switzerland, next Friday, October 18, 2024, at 9:30 am, local time.
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Bernard Tissier de Mallerais was born on September 14, 1945, in Sallanches (Haute-Savoie), France, not far from the Swiss-French-Italian border, in a strongly Catholic family. Following his university studies, dedicated to biology, he joined the Seminary of Saint Pius X (still in Fribourg, in its early years), studying for the priesthood under the guidance of Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre. He was ordained to the Holy Priesthood on June 29, 1975, in Écône.
He became a professor, director, and head of the Seminary after it moved to its permanent location, in Écône. He then became the Secretary General of the Society of Saint Pius X, and later worked as a prior in Colmar, Alsace. As one of the most trusted advisors of Archbishop Lefebvre, he was chosen as one of the four men to be consecrated to the episcopacy in the Écône Ordinations of June 30, 1988.
Following his consecration, he traveled the world to confer Sacraments on Traditionalist faithful. He dedicated much of his strong intellectual energy to write the definitive biography of Archbishop Lefebvre, published in 2002. In 2009, Benedict XVI lifted any penalties applied to him and the other consecrated bishops on 1988.
A man admired for his faithfulness and gentleness, and great intellectual acuity, Bishop Tissier de Mallerais was cherished by all privileged to know him.
- In paradisum deducant te angeli; in tuo adventu suscipiant te martyres, et perducant te in civitatem sanctam Jerusalem. Chorus angelorum te suscipiat, et cum Lazaro quondam paupere æternam habeas requiem.
