User:Cram07734/Capuchins of Morgon

The Capuchins of Morgon are a Traditionalist Catholic community, without Canonical status within Catholic Church. They are affiliated with, but not part of, the traditional Catholic Society of Saint Pius X. Therefore, they are not part of the regular Capuchins, nor under the governance of the French Province of that Order.

Their Motherhouse is the Friary of Saint Francis in Morgon (commune of Villié-Morgon, France) sixty kilometres (37 miles) north of Lyon. The group is best known in the English-speaking world for their attack on 5G towers. In France, they are also known because of the Bronner Commission which claimed their involvement in internet conspiracy theories.

Foundation
The community was founded on the 10th August 1972, originally being located in the commune of Verjon (department of Ain) in the Diocese of Belley. It was founded by two friars, both from the Capuchin Province of Lyon, Eugène de Villeurbanne (born Romain Potez in 1904, died 1990) and Elzéar des Estables (born Théophred Exbrayat in 1910, died 1975).

Principles
The community follow the version of the Rule of the Order of Friars Minor Capuchin used before the changes that were implemented following the Decree, Perfectae Caritatis, which called for a revision of all Religious Rules in line with the changes of the Second Vatican Council. For this reason, they are characterised as a Traditional Catholic community.

Daily Life
The Capuchins of Morgon follow this regimen:

00:55 First Rising (Matins)

04:25 Second Rising

04:45 Lauds; meditation

05:45 Scripture reading

06:35 Angelus; Prime and Terce; Conventual Mass and Thanksgiving

08:00 Breakfast

08:15 Study

09:10 (end of Great Silence)

09:30 Classes, study or work

11:40 Sext and None

12:00 Angelus; lunch; prayers in the choir; dishes; recreation

13:30 (Silence) free time, sleeping, small quiet work

14:00 Vespers; rosary

14:40 Work or study (except: Thursday - walk, Friday - choir practice, Saturday - cleaning)

17:00 Personal devotions (or Low Mass)

17:30 Compline; prayers; meditation (Friday - Stations of the Cross)

18:45 Dinner; dishes; recreation

19:45 Angelus; Pardon; lights out.

(start of Great Silence)

History and Evolution
In 1986, the Order consisted of only five priests.

In 1990, after the death of their founder, Eugène de Villeurbanne, they constructed a chapel for themselves.

In November 2011, they protested, with Civitas and other traditional Catholic groups, against the play Golgata Picnic by Argentinian playwright, Rodrigo García. This was on account of it being blasphemous.

In August 2014, Father Régis de Cacqueray, quitted his office as Superior of the District of France for the Society of Saint Pius X, and entered into the Order. He remained three months at Couvent Saint-Antoine, in Aurenque (department of Gers) where the Capuchins of Morgon have their noviciate, and became a friar, under the name of Father Joseph of Avallon.

In 2018 they attempted to found a new Friary close to Albertville (department of Savoie) but they were blocked by the Administrative Tribunal of Grenoble, and hence were forced to give up.

Relations with other Groups
The Capuchins of Morgon are affiliated with the Society of Saint Pius X, though not under their authority. They are linked because the candidates for ordination to the priesthood receive the Sacrament from bishops of the SSPX.

Beyond this, they also have have links with the Little Sisters of Saint Francis of Assisi.

Controversies
From 2010 to 2014, the Order accommodated Christophe Roisnel, the priest and director of a private school, under the SSPX, in Goussonville. In 2010, two teachers from the school and one of their friends complained to the Society of sexual assault committed by the priest. Secretly, he was transported to the Friary in Morgon. Here he remained until the 7th April 2014, when he was arrested. In 2017, he was sentenced to sixteen years imprisonment for the rape of two women. On appeal he was sentenced to a further three years, totalling nineteen years, for additional accusations of torture, which had not been brought up during the original trial.

Two Friars from the Friary of Morgon, aged 39 and 40, set fire to a 5G relay antenna in Saint-Forgeux the night of the 14th to 15th of September 2021. They were caught the next night by gendarmes as they attempted to set fire to a second tower. They justified their actions by stating that they acted to "protect the population from the harmful effects" of 5G. .

In the report of the Bronner Commission, published in January 2022, the Order was accused of being involved in conspiracy theories amongst online Traditional Catholic groups. Their members have also been accused of sectarianism, like other traditionalist groups associated with the Society of Saint Pius X, according to the rapports of the MIVILUDES, a government agency created to monitor sectarianism in France.

Due to their links with Civitas, and other traditionalist Catholic groups in general, they are mentioned in the novel, Anéantir, by Michel Houellebecq.

Foundations and Ministries

 * Houses
 * Couvent Saint-François (Friary of Saint Francis) in Morgon since 1983, originally founded in 1972 in Verjon
 * Monastère Sainte-Claire (Monastery of Saint Clare) in Morgon founded in September 1993 for the Capuchin Poor Clares.
 * Couvent Saint-Antoine (Friary of Saint Anthony) in Aurenque founded in September 2004, where they have their noviciate.
 * Couvent Saint-Bonaventure (Friary of Saint Bonaventure) in Cour-Cheverney.
 * Chaplaincy
 * The school of La Péraudière, situated close to Montrottier. It was founded in 1946 by Luce Quenette. The school is male only and as of 2019, has around 40 pupils. The teaching is centred on literature and religion; there is daily time for the pupils to pray and every week there is the Traditional Latin Mass. One of the previous teachers of the school was accused of sexual assault against minors by three students.

Documents

 * Jean-François Talivez, Une vie de moine, autoédition, 2018, 272 p. ISBN 9782956401902.
 * Jean-François Talivez, Une vie de moine, autoédition, 2018, 272 p. ISBN 9782956401902.

Novels

 * Maylis Adhémar, Bénie sois sixtine, Pocket, 2020, 320 p. ISBN 9782266318884

Related Articles

 * Friars Minor Capuchin
 * Tridentine Mass