Gilles Wach (born Troyes, 26 November 1956) is a French-Gabonese Roman Catholic priest, co-founder and Prior General of the Institute of Christ the King Sovereign Priest, a Traditionalist society of apostolic life of pontifical right.
Seminary of Genoa, Pontifical University of Saint Thomas Aquinas
Coat of arms
Ecclesiastical careeredit
After finishing secondary school, he entered the seminary of Paray-le-Monial, where he did a year of formation. He moved to the seminary of the Diocese of Genoa, where he met Philippe Mora, who would be his friend and co-founder of the Institute of Christ the King Sovereign Priest. He was ordained a deacon by Giuseppe Cardinal Siri on 29 June 1978, and a priest by Pope John Paul II, on 24 June 1979, among other 24 deacons, including his friend Philippe Mora.[1] He pursued his studies in Rome, residing at the Pontifical Irish College while studying for his doctorate in Theology at the Pontifical University of Saint Thomas Aquinas, with his thesis on St. Francis of Sales, Pédagogie de l'amour. L'éducation de la charité chez saint Francois. During this time, he worked with Silvio Cardinal Oddi, then Prefect of the Congregation for the Clergy. He joined the Traditionalist Opus Sacerdotale, a priestly association led by Abbé Pierre Lourdelet, at the late 1980s, and he played an important role in the foundation of the Opus Sacerdotale in Moissac.
Wach was nominated Vicar General of the Diocese of Mouila, in Gabon, on 19 June 1989, by Cyriaque Obamba, which he was until 1995, when he became Vicar General emeritus.
He founded the Institute of Christ the King Sovereign Priest with Philippe Mora in 1990, a society of apostolic life, which was granted pontifical right in 2008. The ICKSP celebrates primarily the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite. He has been Prior General of the ICKSP since its inception until 2008, when he was elected for a six-year term. He was reelected for another six-year term in November 2014.[2] He was elected for a third six-year term on 24 August 2020.[3]
He was officially censured by the Vatican in 2005 for unlawfully usurping the title and dress of "Monsignor"; he was never elevated to this rank by the Pope and was never listed in the "Annuario Pontifico" like all other papal dignitaries.[4][5][6] In an interview with Michael Davies in 1999, he himself admitted that he only legally held the title during his term of office as one of the two vicars general of the small diocese of Mouila in Gabon (1989-1995).[7] Even after his right to be called "Monisgnor" ("durante munere") had expired, he continued to dress up as a Monsignor, which led to the aforementioned censure. Since then, Gilles Wach changed his dress from purple to blue, but continued to call himself "Monsignor". He was often criticized for an excessively luxurious lifestyle financed by donations from the faithful and for an overly authoritarian style of leadership.[4]
^Letter of the Pontifical Commission "Ecclesia Dei" upon his reelection, 7 November 2014 (Italian)
^Feast of Saint Barthélemy Letter 24 August 2020, by Canon Guitard
^ abMongaillard, Vincent (2023-09-29). "Cigares, champagne et majordomes… L'opulent train de vie de Monseigneur Wach, fondateur de l'Institut du Christ Roi". leparisien.fr (in French). Retrieved 2023-11-23.
^"What level of papal distinction does Prior General Gilles Wach hold?". Christianity Stack Exchange. Retrieved 2023-11-23.
^"Les archives du Forum Catholique". archives.leforumcatholique.org. Retrieved 2023-11-23.
^"Twenty Years of Priesthood, Ten Years of Foundation" (PDF). Interviewed by Michael Davies. March 1999. Retrieved November 23, 2023.
gilles, wach, born, troyes, november, 1956, french, gabonese, roman, catholic, priest, founder, prior, general, institute, christ, king, sovereign, priest, traditionalist, society, apostolic, life, pontifical, right, reverendickspprior, general, institute, chr. Gilles Wach born Troyes 26 November 1956 is a French Gabonese Roman Catholic priest co founder and Prior General of the Institute of Christ the King Sovereign Priest a Traditionalist society of apostolic life of pontifical right The ReverendGilles WachICKSPPrior General of the Institute of Christ the King Sovereign PriestOrdersOrdination24 June 1979by Pope John Paul IIPersonal detailsBorn26 November 1956Troyes Aube FranceNationalityFrench GaboneseAlma materSeminary of Genoa Pontifical University of Saint Thomas AquinasCoat of armsEcclesiastical career editAfter finishing secondary school he entered the seminary of Paray le Monial where he did a year of formation He moved to the seminary of the Diocese of Genoa where he met Philippe Mora who would be his friend and co founder of the Institute of Christ the King Sovereign Priest He was ordained a deacon by Giuseppe Cardinal Siri on 29 June 1978 and a priest by Pope John Paul II on 24 June 1979 among other 24 deacons including his friend Philippe Mora 1 He pursued his studies in Rome residing at the Pontifical Irish College while studying for his doctorate in Theology at the Pontifical University of Saint Thomas Aquinas with his thesis on St Francis of Sales Pedagogie de l amour L education de la charite chez saint Francois During this time he worked with Silvio Cardinal Oddi then Prefect of the Congregation for the Clergy He joined the Traditionalist Opus Sacerdotale a priestly association led by Abbe Pierre Lourdelet at the late 1980s and he played an important role in the foundation of the Opus Sacerdotale in Moissac Wach was nominated Vicar General of the Diocese of Mouila in Gabon on 19 June 1989 by Cyriaque Obamba which he was until 1995 when he became Vicar General emeritus He founded the Institute of Christ the King Sovereign Priest with Philippe Mora in 1990 a society of apostolic life which was granted pontifical right in 2008 The ICKSP celebrates primarily the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite He has been Prior General of the ICKSP since its inception until 2008 when he was elected for a six year term He was reelected for another six year term in November 2014 2 He was elected for a third six year term on 24 August 2020 3 He was officially censured by the Vatican in 2005 for unlawfully usurping the title and dress of Monsignor he was never elevated to this rank by the Pope and was never listed in the Annuario Pontifico like all other papal dignitaries 4 5 6 In an interview with Michael Davies in 1999 he himself admitted that he only legally held the title during his term of office as one of the two vicars general of the small diocese of Mouila in Gabon 1989 1995 7 Even after his right to be called Monisgnor durante munere had expired he continued to dress up as a Monsignor which led to the aforementioned censure Since then Gilles Wach changed his dress from purple to blue but continued to call himself Monsignor He was often criticized for an excessively luxurious lifestyle financed by donations from the faithful and for an overly authoritarian style of leadership 4 References edit Jean Paul II Angelus 24 June 1979 French Letter of the Pontifical Commission Ecclesia Dei upon his reelection 7 November 2014 Italian Feast of Saint Barthelemy Letter 24 August 2020 by Canon Guitard a b Mongaillard Vincent 2023 09 29 Cigares champagne et majordomes L opulent train de vie de Monseigneur Wach fondateur de l Institut du Christ Roi leparisien fr in French Retrieved 2023 11 23 What level of papal distinction does Prior General Gilles Wach hold Christianity Stack Exchange Retrieved 2023 11 23 Les archives du Forum Catholique archives leforumcatholique org Retrieved 2023 11 23 Twenty Years of Priesthood Ten Years of Foundation PDF Interviewed by Michael Davies March 1999 Retrieved November 23 2023 Portals nbsp Biography nbsp Catholicism nbsp France nbsp This article about a French Catholic cleric is a stub You can help Wikipedia by expanding it vte Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Gilles Wach amp oldid 1186515263, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
