Donald Sanborn
Donald J. Sanborn (born February 19, 1950) is an American sedevacantist bishop, known for his advocacy of sedevacantism[1] and sedeprivationism.[2][3] He currently serves as the Superior General of the sedevacantist Roman Catholic Institute (RCI) and rector of the sedevacantist Most Holy Trinity Seminary which was relocated to Reading, Pennsylvania, United States in Fall 2022.[4]
Donald Sanborn | |
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| Superior General of the Roman Catholic Institute | |
Portrait of Sanborn preaching a sermon (Most Holy Trinity Seminary, 2018) | |
| Orders | |
| Ordination | 29 June 1975 by Marcel Lefebvre |
| Consecration | 19 June 2002 by Robert McKenna |
| Personal details | |
| Born | February 19, 1950 |
| Nationality | American |
| Denomination | Sedevacantist/ Sedeprivationist |
| Residence | Reading, Pennsylvania, U.S. |
| Alma mater | The International Seminary of Saint Pius X, Écône, Switzerland |
| Motto | Sanctifica eos in veritate (Sanctify them in truth [Jn. 17:17]) |
| Signature | |
| Coat of arms | |
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| Styles of Donald Sanborn | |
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Biography
Early years
Donald Sanborn was born into a Roman Catholic family in Flushing, Queens, New York, United States.[5] There, he attended Catholic elementary and high schools.[6] In 1967, he entered the seminary college for the Diocese of Brooklyn, where, in 1971, he graduated cum laude, having majored in classical languages.[7]
Priesthood
Society of Saint Pius X
In the same year, Sanborn dropped out of the Seminary of the Immaculate Conception,[5] whose training he considered modernist, and entered the International Seminary of Saint Pius X, Écône, Switzerland, of the traditionalist Society of Saint Pius X (SSPX), becoming one of first seminarians of the newly founded society.[7]
On 29 June 1975, in Écône, he was ordained a priest by Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre of the SSPX.[8] Canonical recognition of the SSPX had been withdrawn by the local Roman Catholic bishop in May 1975, one month prior to his ordination, and this move would later be upheld by the Holy See.[9]
By 1976, Sanborn was offering the traditional Latin Mass for Catholics on Long Island, New York, United States, together with Clarence Kelly.[5]
Saint Thomas Aquinas Seminary
In 1977, Sanborn was teaching at a seminary of the SSPX which was then called Saint Joseph's House of Studies, in Armada, Michigan, United States.[10] Later in the same year, he was appointed Rector of the Seminary.[11][12]
Leaving the Society of Saint Pius X, co-founding the Society of Saint Pius V
Lefebvre directed the SSPX's American priests to follow the 1962 liturgical books. Sanborn and eight other American priests refused to do these. These nine priests accused Lefebvre of being insufficiently traditionalist.[13][14][15] According to Sanborn, Lefebvre was imposing these liturgical and disciplinary changes in view of a reconciliation with the Vatican.[16]
On April 27, 1983, these nine priests, along with some seminarians who were sympathetic to them, were promptly expelled from the SSPX by Lefebvre, for their refusal to use the 1962 Missal and for other reasons, such as their resistance to Lefebvre's order that priests of the SSPX must accept the decrees of nullity handed down by diocesan marriage tribunals, and their disapproval of the SSPX's policy of accepting into the society new members who had been ordained to the priesthood according to the revised sacramental rites of Paul VI. Almost immediately, these nine priests formed the Society of Saint Pius V (SSPV).[17]
Leaving the Society of Saint Pius V
In 1984, Sanborn established the independent Blessed Sacrament Chapel in Martinez, California, United States. In 1991, Sanborn left the SSPV.[18]
Most Holy Trinity Seminary
In 1995, Sanborn founded the sedevacantist Most Holy Trinity Seminary in Spring Lake, Florida, United States. Prior to his episcopal consecration later in 2002, the seminary's graduates were ordained by Dolan,[18] who was consecrated a bishop in 1993. In 2005, the seminary was relocated to Brooksville, Florida.[6][13][19][20][21]
Episcopacy
Episcopal consecration
On June 19, 2002, in Detroit, Michigan, Sanborn was consecrated a bishop by the American sedeprivationist bishop Robert McKenna[4][22] of the Orthodox Roman Catholic Movement.
Sanborn served as pastor of the Queen of All Saints Chapel in Brooksville, Florida.[20]
Episcopal consecration of Selway
On February 22, 2018, Sanborn consecrated his intended successor, Joseph Selway, as a bishop, with Bishop Geert Stuyver of the Istituto Mater Boni Consilii (Verrua Savoia, Turin, Italy) and Bishop Daniel Dolan (from West Chester, Ohio) assisting as co-consecrators.[23]
Present day
Sanborn currently serves as the Superior General of the Roman Catholic Institute and as the rector of the Most Holy Trinity Seminary which was relocated from Brooksville, Florida to Reading, Pennsylvania in Fall 2022.[4] He currently offers private Masses only at Most Holy Trinity Seminary.[4]
He frequently visits Mass centers in the United States and occasionally travels to Europe, meeting with sedevacantist clergy and laity.[7]
He is fluent in Latin, French, and Italian, and has a working knowledge of Greek, German and Spanish.[7]
References
- ^ Jarvis, Edward, Sede Vacante: the Life and Legacy of Archbishop Thục, Apocryphile Press, Berkeley CA, 2018, pp. 107-110, 143-144.
- ^ Explanation of the Thesis, mostholytrinityseminary.org. Accessed February 10, 2022.
- ^ "The material Papacy – Sodalitium". www.sodalitiumpianum.com (in Italian). Retrieved 2018-03-07.
- ^ a b c d Most Holy Trinity Seminary Newsletter October 2022 [accessed November 25, 2022]
- ^ a b c Buggs, Kenneth (9 November 1976). "Ultra traditionalist Catholics Back Suspended Prelate". The New York Times. Retrieved 17 October 2018.
- ^ a b Despósito, Nicolás. . www.mostholytrinityseminary.org. Archived from the original on 2016-08-02. Retrieved 2016-12-16.
- ^ a b c d "About". Bp. Sanborn's Blog. 2014-08-14. Retrieved 2022-12-10.
- ^ Uhlenbrock, Robert W. "Most Rev. Donald J. Sanborn - Biographical Information | Traditional Latin Mass Resources". www.traditionalmass.org. Retrieved 2016-12-16.
- ^ SSPX website; accessed February 10, 2022.
- ^ Sterba, James (11 July 1977). "French Prelate Celebrates Latin Mass in Texas as He Defies Pope". The New York Times. Retrieved 18 October 2018.
- ^ Franklin, James (26 March 1980). "SUSPENDED FRENCH ARCHBISHOP ORDAINS A PRIEST". The Boston Globe.
- ^ Hyer, Marjorie (30 July 1977). "Battling Catholic Church 'Modernism': In the view of many traditionalists, Vatican II has caused a host of church problems, ranging from the defection of large numbers". The Washington Post.
- ^ a b Liberto, Jennifer (August 18, 2003). "Seminary wins planners' okay". Tampa Bay Times.
- ^ Sanborn, Donald (October 2007). (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2016-05-23.
- ^ "Season 2, Clerical Conversations, Episode 1: "The Nine," 30 Years On..." True Restoration. 2013-03-13. Retrieved 2016-12-16.
- ^ Catholic Family Podcast. Bishop Donald Sanborn Explains The Cassiciacum Thesis. 18 February 2022.
- ^ Cuneo, Michael W. (1999-10-22). The Smoke of Satan: Conservative and Traditionalist Dissent in Contemporary American Catholicism. JHU Press. p. 96. ISBN 978-0-8018-6265-6.
- ^ a b Griff Ruby, "The Resurrection of the Roman Catholic Church" (Chapter Ten)"The Bishops of Marcel Lefebvre and Antonio de Castro Mayer"
- ^ Bates, Michael (5 April 2007). "New Seminary Stirring Curiosity". Tampa Tribune.
- ^ a b Bates, Michael (22 April 2007). "A claim to 'true' Catholicism?". Hernando Today.
- ^ Despósito, Father Nicolás. "Most Holy Trinity Seminary-Presentation". mostholytrinityseminary.org. Retrieved 2016-12-17.
- ^ Uhlenbrock, Robert W. "Most Rev. Donald J. Sanborn - Biographical Information | Traditional Latin Mass Resources". www.traditionalmass.org. Retrieved 2016-12-16.
- ^ Jarvis, Edward. Sede Vacante: the Life and Legacy of Archbishop Thục, Apocryphile Press, Berkeley CA, 2018, pp. 107–10, 143–44
External links
- Personnal blog