Philippe Laguérie is a French priest

Priest

A priest is a person authorized to perform the sacred rites of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particular, rites of sacrifice to, and propitiation of, a deity or deities...

 and a Traditionalist Catholic

Traditionalist Catholic

Traditionalist Catholics are Roman Catholics who believe that there should be a restoration of many or all of the liturgical forms, public and private devotions and presentations of Catholic teachings which prevailed in the Catholic Church before the Second Vatican Council...

. He directs the Institut du Bon Pasteur, which upholds the Tridentine Mass

Tridentine Mass

The Tridentine Mass is the form of the Roman Rite Mass contained in the typical editions of the Roman Missal that were published from 1570 to 1962. It was the most widely celebrated Mass liturgy in the world until the introduction of the Mass of Paul VI in December 1969...

.

Career

Laguérie was ordained a priest on 29 June, 1979 by Marcel Lefebvre

Marcel Lefebvre

Marcel François Marie Joseph Lefebvre was a French Roman Catholic archbishop. Following a career as an Apostolic Delegate for West Africa and Superior General of the Holy Ghost Fathers, he took the lead in opposing the changes within the Church associated with the Second Vatican Council.In 1970,...

, founder of the Society of St. Pius X

Society of St. Pius X

The Society of Saint Pius X is an international Traditionalist Catholic organisation, founded in 1970 by the French archbishop Marcel Lefebvre...

. In 1984 he succeeded François Ducaud-Bourget

Francois Ducaud-Bourget

Monsignor François Ducaud-Bourget was a prominent traditionalist Roman Catholic French prelate, priest and close ally of Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre....

 as priest in charge of the Saint-Nicolas-du-Chardonnet

Saint-Nicolas-du-Chardonnet

Saint-Nicolas-du-Chardonnet is a Roman Catholic church in the centre of Paris, France located in the 5th arrondissement. In 1977 it was occupied by traditionalist Society of St...

 in Paris, and remained there until 1997. In 2002, he moved to Bordeaux

Bordeaux

Bordeaux is a port city on the Garonne River in the Gironde department in southwestern France.The Bordeaux-Arcachon-Libourne metropolitan area, has a population of 1,010,000 and constitutes the sixth-largest urban area in France. It is the capital of the Aquitaine region, as well as the prefecture...

 where he illegally squatted the Saint-Eloi Church, before his situation in the frame of the Pontifical Commission Ecclesia Dei

Pontifical Commission Ecclesia Dei

The Pontifical Commission Ecclesia Dei is a commission of the Catholic Church established by Pope John Paul II's motu proprio Ecclesia Dei of 2 July 1988 for the care of those former followers of Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre who broke with him as a result of his consecration of four priests of his...

 established in 1988 by Pope John Paul II

Pope John Paul II

Blessed Pope John Paul II , born Karol Józef Wojtyła , reigned as Pope of the Catholic Church and Sovereign of Vatican City from 16 October 1978 until his death on 2 April 2005, at of age. His was the second-longest documented pontificate, which lasted ; only Pope Pius IX ...

 to re-establish contacts with the Society of Saint Pius X.

On 16 September 2004, Laguérie was dismissed from the Society by his superior bishop Bernard Fellay

Bernard Fellay

Bernard Fellay, SSPX is a bishop and superior general of the Traditionalist Catholic Society of St. Pius X. In 1988, the Roman Catholic Church declared Fellay automatically excommunicated through being consecrated a bishop by Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre, an act that the Holy See described as...

. Some 2 years later, on 8 September, 2006, he was chosen as leader of the newly founded Institut du Bon Pasteur, which received Pope Benedict XVI

Pope Benedict XVI

Benedict XVI is the 265th and current Pope, by virtue of his office of Bishop of Rome, the Sovereign of the Vatican City State and the leader of the Catholic Church as well as the other 22 sui iuris Eastern Catholic Churches in full communion with the Holy See...

's approval, thus regularizing the situation of the Saint-Eloi Church following a signed convention with the archbishop of Bordeaux, Jean-Pierre Ricard.