Gérard Calvet

Dom Gérard Calvet (November 18, 1927 - February 28, 2008) was a French Roman Catholic abbot and founder of the St. Madeleine du Barroux abbey in Le Barroux, France. cite news |first=Pete |last=Vere|title=Calvet, 80, mourned in France |url=http://washingtontimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080303/CULTURE/76043972/1015|work= Washington Times |publisher=|date=2008-03-03 |accessdate=2008-03-17] He was considered to be an important figure in contemporary Catholic traditionalism.

Early life

Calvet was born in Bordeaux, France, on November 18, 1927. He took his vows to become a Benedictine monk on February 4, 1951. Calvert was ordained a Catholic priest on May 13, 1956.

Saint Madeleine du Barroux

Calvert and several traditional monks set out to restore the closed Saint Madeleine du Barroux, which is located in Provence, France, after the Second Vatican Council. Calvert often allied himself with other Catholic conservative traditionalists, such as the Society of St. Pius X and Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre, in order to perform pre-Vatican II rites, such as the Latin Mass, at the abbey. As a result, Calvert's monastery often operated outside of the official recognition of the Catholic Church.

Calvert also founded the Chartres Pilgrimage, a three day annual pilgrimage for traditional Catholics from Paris to Chartres, France. He published "Tomorrow Christendom", which sharply criticized the lack of Christian spirituality in Europe, in 1986. In 1988, Calvert objected to consecration of bishops by Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre without Vatican approval. Calvert's decision to back the Vatican over Lefebvre in the dispute led to better relations between the Vatican and the Saint Madeleine du Barroux abbey.

Death

Father Gérard Calvet died at the age of 80 on February 28, 2008. He had been in poor health since suffering a stroke in the late 1990s.

References