Michael Treharne Davies (13 March 1936 – 25 September 2004) was a British teacher and

traditionalist Catholic Traditionalist Catholicism is the set of beliefs, practices, customs, traditions, liturgical forms, devotions, and presentations of Catholic teaching that existed in the Catholic Church before the liberal reforms of the Second Vatican Council ( ...

writer of many books about the Catholic Church following the

Second Vatican Council The Second Ecumenical Council of the Vatican, commonly known as the , or , was the 21st ecumenical council of the Roman Catholic Church. The council met in St. Peter's Basilica in Rome for four periods (or sessions), each lasting between 8 and ...

. From 1992 to 2004 he was the president of the international Traditionalist Catholic organisation '' Foederatio Internationalis Una Voce'' and was responsible for the unification of ''Una Voce America''.

Life

Davies was born to Cyril and Annie (née Garnworthy) Davies. His father, a Welshman, was a

Baptist Baptists form a major branch of Protestantism distinguished by baptizing professing Christian believers only ( believer's baptism), and doing so by complete immersion. Baptist churches also generally subscribe to the doctrines of soul compe ...

, and his mother, who was

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

, was an Anglican. Davies was brought up in

Yeovil Yeovil ( ) is a town and civil parish in the district of South Somerset, England. The population of Yeovil at the last census (2011) was 45,784. More recent estimates show a population of 48,564. It is close to Somerset's southern border with ...

, Somerset, but proud of his Welsh descent. He served as a regular soldier in the

Somerset Light Infantry The Somerset Light Infantry (Prince Albert's) was a light infantry regiment of the British Army, which served under various titles from 1685 to 1959. In 1959, the regiment was amalgamated with the Duke of Cornwall's Light Infantry to form the Som ...

during the Malayan Emergency, the Suez Crisis, and the EOKA campaign in

Cyprus Cyprus ; tr, Kıbrıs (), officially the Republic of Cyprus,, , lit: Republic of Cyprus is an island country located south of the Anatolian Peninsula in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Its continental position is disputed; while it is ge ...

. Davies was a

who converted to Catholicism while still a student in the 1950s. While initially a supporter of the

, Davies became critical of the liturgical changes that followed in its wake, which he argued were a result of distortions and misreadings of the Council's mandates for liturgical reform. Davies later supported the French Archbishop

Marcel Lefebvre Marcel François Marie Joseph Lefebvre (; 29 November 1905 – 25 March 1991) was a French Catholic archbishop who greatly influenced modern traditional Catholicism. In 1970, he founded the Society of Saint Pius X (SSPX), a community to tra ...

, founder of the Society of St. Pius X (SSPX), writing a three-volume series titled ''Apologia Pro Marcel Lefebvre'' in which he defended Lefebvre against accusations of disobedience and schism for refusing to celebrate the

Mass of Paul VI The Mass of Paul VI, also known as the Ordinary Form or Novus Ordo, is the most commonly used liturgy in the Catholic Church. It is a form of the Latin Church's Roman Rite and was promulgated by Pope Paul VI in 1969, published by him in the 19 ...

. Although Davies opposed Lefebvre's canonically-illicit consecration of four SSPX bishops in 1988 against the wishes of

Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II ( la, Ioannes Paulus II; it, Giovanni Paolo II; pl, Jan Paweł II; born Karol Józef Wojtyła ; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 1978 until his ...

, he continued to publicly support Lefebvre's defence of the

Tridentine Mass The Tridentine Mass, also known as the Traditional Latin Mass or Traditional Rite, is the liturgy of Mass in the Roman Rite of the Catholic Church that appears in typical editions of the Roman Missal published from 1570 to 1962. Celebrated almo ...

and traditional Church teachings. William D. Dinges, Professor of Religion and Culture at

The Catholic University of America The Catholic University of America (CUA) is a private Roman Catholic research university in Washington, D.C. It is a pontifical university of the Catholic Church in the United States and the only institution of higher education founded by U.S. ...

, described Davies as " ternationally, one of the most prolific traditionalist apologists". Davies was a critic of the alleged apparitions of the Blessed Virgin at

Medjugorje Medjugorje ( sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Međugorje, Међугорје, ) is a town located in southwestern Bosnia and Herzegovina, about southwest of Mostar and east of the border with Croatia. The town is part of the Čitluk municipality ...

, which he believed to be false. Davies died on 25 September 2004, aged 68, following a battle with cancer and was buried in the churchyard of

St. Mary's, Chislehurst Chislehurst () is a suburban district of south-east London, England, in the London Borough of Bromley. It lies east of Bromley, south-west of Sidcup and north-west of Orpington, south-east of Charing Cross. Before the creation of Greater ...

, Kent. He was survived by his wife, Marija, one daughter and two sons, __NOTOC__ one of whom is the barrister Adrian Davies.

Selected published works

*''The Liturgical Revolution'' (Vol. I: ''Cranmer's Godly Order'' Roman Catholic Books, vol. II ''Pope John's Council'' & vol III ''Pope Paul's New Mass'':

Angelus Press The Society of Saint Pius X (SSPX) ( la, Fraternitas Sacerdotalis Sancti Pii X; FSSPX) is an international fraternity of traditionalist Catholic priests founded in 1970 by Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre, a leading traditionalist voice at the Seco ...

) *''Apologia Pro Marcel Lefebvre'' (

) is a three volume book in support of the French Archbishop

, founder of the Society of St. Pius X, * ''The Order of Melchisedech'' – 255pp, Roman Catholic Books, * ''Partisans of Error (on Modernism)'' – 109pp, Neumann Press (1982), * ''Newman Against the Liberals'' – 400pp, Roman Catholic Books (out of print) * ''The Second Vatican Council and Religious Liberty'' – 326pp, Neumann Press, * ''I am with you always (on the Indefectibility of the Church)'' – 101pp, Neumann Press * ''For Altar and Throne – The Rising in the Vendée'' – 100pp, The Remnant Press, * ''St John Fisher'' – 140pp, Neumann Press, * ''The Wisdom of Adrian Fortescue'' (edited by M. Davies) – 421pp, Roman Catholic Books, * ''Liturgical Shipwreck'' – TAN Books, *''Liturgical Timebombs in Vatican 2: Destruction of the Faith Through Changes in Catholic Worship –'' TAN Books,

References

External links

Video
Michael Davies at St. Athanasius (Traditional Catholic Chapel), Vienna, Virginia, 1988.
Tribute
from Una Voce America.
''The Catholic Sanctuary and the Second Vatican Council''
by Michael Davies, criticising post-Vatican II architectural changes
Apologia pro Marcel Lefebvre
by Michael Davies, hosted by SSPX Asia.
''Michael Davies – An Evaluation''
by John S. Daly, a critique of Davies' theology (2015). {{DEFAULTSORT:Davies, Michael 1936 births 2004 deaths British writers British traditionalist Catholics Converts to Roman Catholicism from Baptist denominations Traditionalist Catholic writers Somerset Light Infantry soldiers British military personnel of the Cyprus Emergency People from Yeovil British Army personnel of the Malayan Emergency British people of Welsh descent Place of death missing Deaths from cancer in England Military personnel from Somerset Liturgists