could go and practice living our faith more faithfully , without all the noise .”
After the Catholic Church was reformed by the 1962-1965 rulings of the Second Vatican Council , 100,000 men left the priesthood worldwide , along with 90,000 nuns , rejecting the decisions of the Council intended to modernize Catholic worship .
The Council dictated that the altar be turned to face the people , eliminating the priest ’ s prior position that signified the congregation being led by him to Christ . Mass was allowed to be delivered in the local vernacular , no longer in Latin as before , and women were no longer required to cover their hair in modesty during worship .
In November 1970 , French Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre founded the SSPX as an international pious union for the formation of priests . Father Hector Bolduc , a priest ordained by Lefebvre in 1974 , then came to the United States , opening chapels to organize the SSPX ’ s faithful .
In the U . S . today , there are an estimated 85 priests who collectively lead 25,000 parishioners in 103 chapels located in 38 states .
The Society of Saint Pius X is a source of some controversy as a Catholic organization that operates outside of the Church hierarchy for doctrinal reasons and does so amidst accusations of anti-semitism and political leanings toward the far right .
Matthew doesn ’ t devote much of his time to the arguments surrounding the SSPX , though .
“ The back and forth has been going on for 50 years and will probably go on for 50 more years ,” he said . “ I know that in my family the spiritual and personal growth has been exponential , and I have seen that in many others as well … I believe that I am where the Lord wants me and doing what I think he wants me to do at this time , especially when it comes to raising my family and restoring St . Irenaeus Church .”
While the St . Irenaeus congregation awaits the SSPX ’ s assignment of a priest , Matthew is planning for an open house at the church in the fall .
Photos : The Stations of the Cross sculptures , at top , are insets between the tall stain glass windows of saints . They formerly blended in with the wall color . Now they have been painted to enhance the realism of each scene . The new alter , at bottom , was installed in six pieces . Photos by Chris Baldus .
CLINTON MAGAZINE | SPRING 2024 19