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marcel lefebvre

marcel françois marie joseph lefebvre -lrb- 29 november 1905 -- 25 march 1991 -rrb- was a french roman catholic archbishop .
following a career as an apostolic delegate for west africa and superior general of the holy ghost fathers , he took the lead in opposing certain changes within the church associated with the second vatican council .
in 1970 , lefebvre founded the society of st. pius x -lrb- sspx -rrb- .
in 1988 , against the expressed prohibition of pope john paul ii , he consecrated four bishops to continue his work with the sspx .
the holy see immediately declared that he and the other bishops who had participated in the ceremony had incurred automatic excommunication under catholic canon law .
in 2009 , 18 years after lefebvre 's death , pope benedict xvi lifted the excommunication of the four surviving bishops at their request .
