Franz Schmidberger

The Rev. Franz Schmidberger (October 19 1946 in Riedlingen) is a priest of the Society of St. Pius X, founded by Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre.

Graduated in 1972 in the University of Munich, in the same year he entered the seminary of Econe where he was ordained priest on December 8 1975. Later he taught in the seminary of Weissbad, the first German speaker of the Society.

In 1978 he founded the seminary of Zaitzkofen in Germany, where he was appointed district superior from 1979. He was named vicar general by Abp Lefebvre in 1982.

After the death of Lefebvre, Father Schmidberger was elected the second Superior-General of the SSPX. He was succeeded by Bishop Bernard Fellay, the present superior.

With Fellay, he is alleged to be part of a faction that favors reconciliation with Rome on the basis of the Campos precedent, a program in which he is allegedly opposed by the other three bishops of the SSPX.Fact|date=February 2007