Bishop Richard Williamson has died, leaves behind controversial legacy

Former SSPX Bishop Richard Williamson died last night following his hospitalisation earlier this week in a serious condition. It was previously reported that Williamson had been admitted to hospital in Margate, southeast England, and received the Last Rites following what was believed to be a brain haemorrhage. The Catholic Herald was informed that he died The post Bishop Richard Williamson has died, leaves behind controversial legacy first appeared on Catholic Herald. The post Bishop Richard Williamson has died, leaves behind controversial legacy appeared first on Catholic Herald.

Feb 1, 2025 - 04:00

Bishop Richard Williamson has died, leaves behind controversial legacy

Former SSPX Bishop Richard Williamson died last night following his hospitalisation earlier this week in a serious condition.

It was previously reported that Williamson had been admitted to hospital in Margate, southeast England, and received the Last Rites following what was believed to be a brain haemorrhage. The Catholic Herald was informed that he died last night at 11.23 p.m. He was 84 years old.

“He was surrounded by clerics and faithful who have been keeping vigil with him for his final journey,” an email from the bishop’s office stated. “They were praying right to the end.”

The email added: “Thousands of people all around the world have been praying for him. We are inundated with messages of condolence.”

Williamson, who was ordained a priest in 1976, was a controversial figure in the Church and was excommunicated multiple times, making him one of the most rebellious prelates in the Church’s recent history.

He consecrated several men as bishops without Vatican approval, leaving behind an episcopal lineage of illicit bishops.

The renegade bishop was one of four men consecrated as bishops for the Society of Saint Pius X (SSPX) by Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre at Écône, Switzerland, without Vatican approval.

Known for his controversial views, Williamson argued that women should not pursue careers or attend university and propagated conspiracy theories, including claims that the September 11 attacks and the 2005 London bombings were orchestrated by the US and UK governments.

*A recent photo of Bishop Richard Williamson, courtesy his office*

Williamson, an Englishman and originally an Anglican, attended Winchester College and later Cambridge University. He was received into the Catholic Church in 1971 and, after discerning his vocation at the Brompton Oratory, London, entered the International Seminary of Saint Pius X at Écône, Switzerland.

The Society of Saint Pius X – which was founded by Archbishop Lefebvre who at the time was in full communion with the Church – opposed the liturgical reforms of the Second Vatican Council.

By 1988, tensions between the Society and Rome had reached breaking point. Archbishop Lefebvre had long been at odds with the Holy See, facing suspension a divinis for ordaining priests without approval and resisting the New Rites of the sacraments.

Despite ongoing dialogue with Cardinal Ratzinger, who sought to regularise the SSPX, Lefebvre’s erratic behaviour and staunch opposition to Vatican II reforms ultimately derailed their agreement. That year, Lefebvre consecrated Williamson and three others as bishops without papal consent, leading to the immediate excommunication of Lefebvre, Williamson and the other three bishops.

In 2009, at the same time the Vatican remitted the automatic excommunications of the bishops, Williamson made headlines for stating on Swedish television: “I believe that the historical evidence is strongly against, is hugely against six million Jews having been deliberately gassed in gas chambers as a deliberate policy of Adolf Hitler.”

Following the airing of the interview, he was swiftly removed from his position as the head of an SSPX seminary in Argentina.

In Germany, where the interview was recorded in 2008, Holocaust denial is a criminal offence. As a result, in 2010 Williamson was convicted for inciting hatred.

He subsequently lost an appeal against his conviction that was rejected in 2019 by the European Court of Human Rights.

Williamson’s lawyers argued that he should not have been convicted as the interview only aired in Sweden, which does not have a Holocaust denial law.

But the Strasbourg-based ECHR concluded that Williamson knew that he was breaking German law at the time and did not attempt to limit the interview to Swedish airwaves alone. He was initially sentenced to a fine of 12,000 euros, reduced to 1,500 euros on appeal.

Williamson’s relationship with SSPX would eventually become increasingly strained. In August 2012, he conducted unauthorised confirmations in Brazil, prompting criticism from SSPX leadership for disobedience.

By October 2012, after refusing to submit and publishing an open letter against the Superior General, he was expelled from the Society for his refusal “to show respect and obedience deserved by his legitimate superiors”.

Photo: Bishop Richard Williamson arrives at Heathrow airport in London, England, 25 February 2009. Williamson left Argentina for Britain, at the time, reportedly under threat of expulsion for his questioning the occurrence of the mass extermination of Jews in Nazi gas chambers during World War II. (Photo by LEON NEAL/AFP via Getty Images.)