On February 10, 2018, Monica Green and Nicolas Lessard, from the SSPX parish of St. Raphael in Winnipeg, MB, were married by Novus Ordo priest, Fr. Kelly Wilson, in the diocesan church of St. Augustine of Canterbury in Brandon, MB. Fr. Vachon, SSPX, stood by while the couple professed their vows before Fr. Kelly, who is parochial vicar of St. Augustine of Canterbury. After the ceremony the following picture was taken and placed in St. Raphael’s parish bulletin for the month of March 2018.
Left: Fr. Kelly Wilson (Diocesan); Right: Fr. Vachon (SSPX)
The couple preferred the church of St. Augustine for the ceremony, and Fr. Vachon reportedly indicated to them that since it is the couple who are the ministers of the sacrament of marriage, it doesn’t matter which priest officiated. After the couple exchanged vows before Fr. Wilson, Fr. Vachon celebrated Mass in St. Augustine’s.
REMNANT COMMENT: This story broke on several websites that cited it as proof the SSPX no longer believes there is a state of emergency in the Church. While this attitude fails to take into account the complexities of the situation as well as a growing SSPX annulment problem, this development represents a rather dramatic change in attitude that may indeed signal a gradual moving away from the state of urgency/supplied jurisdiction argument. Our sources tell us the SSPX is now working with as many as ten bishops who either grant them delegations or supply them with diocesan priests to conduct their marriages. We leave it to our readers to decide for themselves if this newfound cooperation with the Novus Ordo is cause for concern or celebration.