What is the Society of St. Pius X?Founded in 1970 in Econe, Switzerland, by the French bishop Marcel Lefebvre (1905-1991), the group follows a stricter interpretation of doctrinal and liturgical tradition.It received significant media attention in 1988 after illegally ordaining four bishops, resulting in immediate excommunication.The Society has a presence in nearly 80 countries and is "well established" in France, Switzerland and the United States, according to Martin Dumont, Secretary General of the Institute for Research on the Study of Religions.It has 730 priests and more than 260 seminarians today and approximately 600,000 members, Dumont told AFP. Rejecting outright the changes within the Church since the Second Vatican Council in the 1960s, it defends a traditional patriarchal model of society and an ideal of a theocratic state.Although influential in certain conservative circles, it remains a minority within the Catholic Church and its approximately 1.4 billion faithful.What is the pre-Vatican II rite?This rite, codified in the 16th century and known as the "Tridentine" rite, is characterised by the use of Latin, a highly codified and symbolic liturgy.It is celebrated with the priest facing the altar and his back to the congregation.