According to our Statutes, approved by Rome on the 1 of November 1970,
our Superior General remains in office for a period of twelve years. His
Excellency Bishop Fellay was elected by the last General Chapter in 1994
as Superior General. Now his twleve years are up. Therefore the General
Chapter will meet again this July to elect a new Superior General. Not
only the Superior General, but also his two Assistants will be elected.
The General Chapter is composed of 40 priests designated by their office or by their seniority. By their office means that they are superiors of Districts, Seminaries or Autonomous Houses. By their seniority means those priests who entered the Society between 1971 and 1974. The nationalities of the capitulants represent 11 countries: France, Germany, Austria, Spain, Switzerland, United Kingdom, Australia, South Africa, Argentina, Canada and the United States.
Nothing prevents the present Superior General being re-elected. Although, at the time, Archbishop Lefebvre considered it prudent not to consecrate the Superior General to the Episcopacy, nothing is written in our Statutes which forbids such a candidate. A new Superior General may indeed be elected from among the 40 capitulants but may also be elected from many other priests of the Society according to the conditions laid down by our Statutes. The new Superior General is elected by at least 2/3 of the votes in a secret ballot.
Once the new Superior and his two Assistants have been canonically elected, an announcement is made to all the houses of the Society and friendly communities. In Southern Africa, Fr. Anthony Esposito will make known the result of the elections as soon as it is transmitted to him. Dear friends, as long as it does not come from his mouth, take no heed of it. Rumours will not be wanting as has always been the case.
After the election, the General Chapter, under the presidency of the new Superior General, will discuss the different issues at hand, prepare reports and proposals, and take certain resolutions that seem pertinent for this time.
Dear friends, it is most necessary to insist upon the importance of this moment in the history of the Society and of the Church. We are living through very difficult times and our faith is in very grave danger. A good Superior General can steer us through these trying times. I ask you, therefore, for your fervent prayers to guide the electing hands of the capitulants and for the new Superior General. Allow me to go further. I ask that you do acts of penance for this intention so that God may be appeased and may grant us a good and saintly superior. I do not ask too much of you. It is only once every twelve years that a Superior General is elected. Your faith and the faith of your children will be very much affected. Let us not take for granted that God will look after the Society. If He did not even spare the Papacy in giving us bad popes, how much more our tiny Society!
May God and His Holy Mother bless and guide you always.
Servus Mariae Fr. C. Daniels
