Armada (1973-1979)
The Founding of the SSPX
The feast of All Saints, 1970, is a date that may very well figure prominently in future Church histories. It was on that day that the International Priestly Society of St. Pius X (SSPX) was erected as a “pious union” in the diocese of Fribourg, Switzerland. Its purpose, as stated by founder Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre, was clear: “the Priesthood and whatever pertains to it and nothing but that which concerns it; that is, the Priesthood as Our Lord Jesus Christ willed it when He said, ‘Do this for a commemoration of Me.’”
The Archbishop, a missionary with decades of experience in forming priests and leading souls to God, had been called out of retirement by seminarians looking for a truly Catholic formation in the wake of Vatican II. This call placed him in an unexpected situation. He had never anticipated starting his own congregation of priests, but he was long used to answering the directives of Providence. The Catholic priesthood must be preserved. The Archbishop would do his part, taking for his model Christ the High Priest, and following Him wherever He willed.
The Society Comes to the United States
In 1967, two years after the close of the Second Vatican Council, in another corner of the globe, a group of Catholic laymen, concerned by the novelties appearing in their parishes, organized the Committee of Concerned Catholics (CCC). These conservative-minded Catholics from the southeastern corner of Michigan met in Royal Oak, in order to do what they could to preserve the Faith.
In 1971, certain CCC members became affiliated with a Benedictine priest, Fr. Bonfil Batazzo, who offered daily Mass for them. Seeing that the number of Catholics under his care was growing, and recognizing the need of an organized force to help him feed his flock, Fr. Bonfil called upon the newly formed SSPX. In the fall of 1972, he and CCC leader Mr. Robert Bartnick met with Archbishop Lefebvre in Ecône to ask the Archbishop whether it would be possible to send priests to take over Fr. Bonfil’s apostolate.
The Archbishop agreed to Fr. Bonfil’s request, but explained that the Society’s work was dedicated primarily to the formation of Catholic priests according to the Traditions of the Church and so its first priority would be the establishment of a seminary, while the formation and service of parishes would have to be secondary. Thus the doors of the Society’s first American Seminary were opened. The “Seminary” was, in fact, a house purchased by the CCC located on Ravenna Avenue in Royal Oak. It was here that Fr. Anthony Ward, an American priest recently ordained by the Archbishop, oversaw the formation of the first four American seminarians. Shortly thereafter, three more seminarians joined and it became necessary to obtain a larger facility.
A House to Call Their Own
In the summer of 1974, the Society purchased from the PIME Missionary Fathers a large old farm house on a three-acre plot of land in nearby Armada. A dilapidated barn and an old chicken coop were also part of the bargain. The new Seminary was christened “St. Joseph’s House of Studies” and Fr. Ward was named the first rector. A garage adjoining the house initially served as chapel but was converted into a sacristy after a much larger and more suitable chapel was built within months. On November 10, 1974, the chapel and grounds were blessed and dedicated in solemn fashion as the Society’s first American Seminary.
Generous faithful found the means to furnish St. Joseph’s House of Studies just as they had found the means to purchase it. The Seminary needed little that they were not able to salvage from “renovating” churches of the diocese, be it statues, books, vestments or pews.
The Archbishop had always envisioned the Society as extending well beyond the borders of Switzerland. His first American seminarians had no qualms in submitting their formation to a “foreign” bishop. His nationality did not matter; his Catholicity did. It was clear on the one hand that the Catholic Faith was being destroyed worldwide by the wolves in sheep’s clothing that were Vatican II reformers, while on the other hand the Archbishop had long proven himself a true shepherd, unwilling to compromise the Faith in any way.
Early Seminary Life
It is a fact of history that ground-breaking pioneers are hardier than the generations which follow. This was certainly true in Armada, where seminarians rose an entire 15 minutes earlier than their Winona successors do now. At 5:45 a.m., they heard the ringing of a bell and, accompanying a knock on the door, a cheerful “Benedicamus Domino!” to which each would “cheerfully” respond in turn “Deo gratias.” Prime was sung at 6:15 a.m. – the quicker recto-tono recitation did not become the common practice until the last year that the Seminary was at St. Joseph’s. Meditation and Holy Mass would follow, setting the tone for the remainder of the day.
The Seminary community would gather together in the chapel at noon to pray the Rosary. Meals were taken in the large dining room next to the kitchen/classroom on the main floor of the House. Other classrooms were located in the basement where the bookstore and seminarian sleeping quarters could also be found.
The notoriously high water-table in Armada made basement life interesting – and trying – at St. Joseph’s. A heavy rain might suddenly require an in-season or out-of-season spring cleaning with every able body rushing to grab a mop and towel. A certain mildewy atmosphere reigned in these lower regions of the House and was believed responsible for the numerous cases of strep throat and bronchial infections.
Recreations included a variety of sports that could be played in the spacious field behind the barn. Occasionally, an outing would be taken to sites such as historical Frankenmuth, MI, a little town popular for its year-round Christmas commercialization. Yearly retreats were farther removed, being taken outside of Michigan. Usually one of the states along the upper East Coast provided a welcome change of scenery to usher in the new Seminary year.
A Pattern is Established
Although it was a small band in humble surroundings that occupied the first choir stalls of the fledgling Seminary, the confirmation of God’s blessing on the work of the Archbishop was beginning to appear in the United States. Yet the early history of the Seminary illustrates a recurring pattern in its 32 year lifespan: crosses followed by renewal and great blessings. Our Lord had said to His disciples: “He that taketh not up his cross, and followeth Me, is not worthy of Me. He that findeth his life, shall lose it: and he that shall lose his life for Me, shall find it” (Matt. X, 38-39). God always tests His servants in order to purify their intentions and strengthen them for greater trials to come. Contrary to the wisdom of the world, these crosses are a sign of God’s approval.
The first trial faced by the Seminary was the departure from the SSPX of Fr. Ward in the winter of 1976-1977, along with a few of the already small number of seminarians. Fr. Donald Sanborn was named the new Rector in February by Archbishop Lefebvre. The teaching staff was now composed almost entirely of young American priests recently ordained in Ecône.
In late September and early October of 1979, the Seminary loaded a caravan of Hertz rental trucks for its move to a more fitting and spacious former Jesuit retreat center in Ridgefield, CT.