Bishop Richard Williamson: Anniversary Post
Today marks the anniversary of Bishop Richard Williamson's death.
Today marks the anniversary of Bishop Richard Williamson’s death.
(WM Round-Up) – On Wednesday 29th January 2025, His Lordship Bishop Richard Williamson, formerly of the Society of St Pius X (SSPX) died.
He suffered a brain haemorrhage on the 24th January, and was hospitalised. He received extreme unction, and Catholics of varying views and positions on the current crisis united in prayer for the Bishop. Having spent several days unconscious, he suffered a short final agony which his people tell us “was only a matter of minutes.”
At the time, we published a number of articles about Bishop Williamson, the funeral, the responses to his death, and his legacy. These articles prompted both appreciation and abuse from various quarters. They also found their way onto Wikipedia, as references for the late Bishop’s entry.
To mark this anniversary, and as we have accumulated over twice as many subscribers since they were first published, we are republishing the articles below.
In spite of our disagreement with His Lordship on several key issues – including the status of the post-conciliar claimants to the papacy – there can be no doubt that he was a crucial figure in the post-conciliar epoch, to whom many of us owe a great number of debts.
We hope that they spur readers to appreciate the great mark made by Bishop Williamson, and to pray for the repose of his soul.
Bishop Williamson’s Life and Death
Our obituary for Bishop Richard Williamson came to be one of the most-read WM Review articles since its founding in 2021.
It covered his life, vocation, excommunication by John Paul II, conflict with the SSPX leadership, and his activities after being expelled in 2012.
It also touches on some aspects of his legacy, which we addressed in more detail in a later piece – and the questions raised by his death, following so soon after the death of Bishop Bernard Tissier de Mallerais, who remained with the SSPX, on 8th October 2024.
We also published a translation of this obituary in French.
Responses to Bishop Williamson’s Death
Following the Bishop’s death, many persons published articles and obituaries.
However, there were not as many Requiem Masses for his soul announced – and as a result, not as many clerical eulogies or tributes to share.
We obtained permission to publish the first such clerical eulogy, which was made by Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò.
As well as publishing this eulogy, we discussed the rumour (and what would be needed to prove it) that Viganò received conditional consecration to the episcopate at his hands. Indeed, the picture which Archbishop Viganò published at the time strongly hints at this, given the vestments which both men were wearing and the location in which it was taken.
We also collated a number of other tributes and responses, which can be found within.
Bishop Williamson’s Funeral
His Lordship was laid to rest on 26th February 2025. His Pontifical Requiem Mass was offered by Bishop Paul Morgan in Canterbury.
Over 200 mourners attended, including five of the six bishops whom he consecrated following his expulsion from the SSPX. Priests and faithful of various affiliations were also present. Bishop Morgan delivered a sermon and eulogy, and read a letter from Archbishop Viganò.
The funeral also included the unusual ceremony known as the “Quinque Absolutiones” or “Five Absolutions,” used for the burial of bishops and other dignitaries.
In spite of attempts to keep the funeral discreet, The Kent Online newspaper became aware of the location, and published an article full of criticisms of the Bishop and the venue that hosted the funeral, and photographs of the mourners. The Westgate Community Trust, who manage the Westgate Hall venue, defended their decision, saying:
“Westgate Community Trust is non-political and as such operates Westgate Hall as a neutral venue to serve all members of the community and for them to have access to hire the space.”
Bishop Williamson’s Legacy
In one final farewell to the late Bishop Williamson, we assessed five aspects of his legacy.
In the days following his death, discussions about his legacy included both praise and critique. Some have expressed concerns about “hagiographical” portrayals of his legacy, calling for a more measured assessment of his ideas and character.
Our article consisted of five key “debts” which I personally felt were owed to Bishop Williamson. These were:
His insistence on the Kingship of Christ and the liberty of the Church
His constant promotion of the Rosary
His transmission of the spirit of St. Ignatius’ Spiritual Exercises
His witness to the importance of sacramental integrity
His distinction between the Conciliar Church and the Catholic Church.
Others might have chosen different “debts” to discuss, such as his sympathy for, and encouragement and affirmation of young men, his strident views on history, politics, literature, music, marriage and the sexes, alleged medical treatments, his keen sense of what the traditionalist clergy were and were not, or his denunciations of the various enemies of the Church.
Nonetheless, these were five key points for which I have enduring gratitude towards His Lordship.
Bonus: Bishop Williamson and ‘Mentevacantism’
Always a controversial figure, many will have had serious disagreements with at least one aspect, or perhaps more, of the late Bishop’s theology or thought.
One key issue was his view of the post-conciliar claimants to the papacy. Bishop Williamson claimed that modernism had given these men – and their collaborators – what he called “sick minds.” This sickness, he claimed, prevented them from pertinaciously adhering to heresy, which meant that they were indeed true Popes.
In fact, this is actually an argument against the legitimacy of the post-conciliar claimants to the papacy, as Bishop Donald Sanborn explains. Aside from there being other arguments for the illegitimacy of these claimants to the papacy, it is hard to see how someone who is mentally incapable of rejecting the faith can be mentally capable of accepting or professing the faith – which is a condition for being a member of the Church, and therefore holding office in the Church.
In May 2025, we published a summary of Cardinal Juan de Lugo SJ’s treatment of the matter of pertinacity, and answered Bishop Williamson’s objection.
Readers are also referred to Bishop Donald Sanborn’s treatment of “mentevacantism” below – which we included in all of the above articles.
Against Mentevacantism – Bishop Donald Sanborn
Conclusion: Bishop Williamson’s Soul
As we mark the anniversary of Bishop Williamson’s death, we should not let appreciation get in the way of prayer.
To this end, here is the collect and postcommunion for a deceased bishop, and the antiphon In Paradisum:
O God, who wert pleased that in the apostolic priesthood this thy servant Richard should be invested with episcopal dignity: grant also, we beseech thee, that he may be joined for evermore to the fellowship of that priesthood in heaven. Through our Lord Jesus Christ thy Son, who liveth and reigneth with thee in the unity of the Holy Ghost. World without end.
Grant, we beseech thee, almighty God, that by thy command the soul of thy servant Richard, thy Bishop, may be counted in the company of the righteous in everlasting bliss. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, thy son, who liveth and reigneth with thee in the unity of the Holy Ghost. World without end.
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Thank you for reposting this, could everyone in their charity please also pray for the good Bishop’s dear friend, Dr David Allen White, who passed away just a few weeks later on the Feast of Our Lady of Lourdes. Two tremendous souls, RIP.
"Mentevacante" - that's a good one. although I think it applies more to a growing number of people than to the V2 papal claimants like Bishop Williamson believed, permitting them to be valid popes.