The TFP Is Born – Folha de S. Paulo, February 22, 1969
Our catacombal period lasted four years, but during that time, signs of an inevitable and lasting condition were always visible. Think of a few leaders without followers, a group that had already completed its mission, survived, and was now leftover. This was our situation when the oldest was 40 and the youngest 25.
We decided to stay united, vigilantly praying and watching events until God’s will became clear.
We rented a small headquarters on Martim Francisco Street, where we gathered every night. Without bitterness or pride, we recalled our glorious sacrifices of days gone by. Carefully and sadly, we analyzed the subtle but relentless decline of the country’s religious landscape and held doctrinal studies alongside fraternal and warm fellowship. Providence thus created the perfect conditions to unite us, strengthening our cohesion in thought, feeling, and action, as it would be hard to imagine. Hidden in the ground, the seed germinated.
A small group of young women who had fought with us against rising progressivism in Catholic Action and later withdrew into isolation were now rallying around us to provide valuable and discreet support.
Yet, death took three fighters from our small group. The first was the gentle, brave, and noble son of Our Lady, our unforgettable José Gustavo de Souza Queiroz. I also remember with respect and nostalgia the passionate yet quiet and gentle nature of Mrs. Angela Ruiza, an active volunteer and member of the JOC (Catholic Workers Youth). And Dr. Antonio Ablas Filho, a skilled, hardworking surgeon, distinguished university professor, family head, and champion of the poor, whom the entire city of Santos admired.
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I still remember a day in January 1947 when I told my friends that, according to a radio station report, Pius XII had appointed Father Geraldo Sigaud as bishop of Jacarezinho. What? How? While our joy was great, our doubt was even greater. During the storm, Fr. Sigaud had been sent to distant Spain as a missionary. Would he return? Yes, he would. Our joy rose to the heavens like a hymn. A star was now shining in the night of our exile over the flotsam and jetsam of our shipwreck!
Against all odds, another joy awaited us the following year. When I arrived at our catacomb one evening in March 1948, a friend, full of happiness, was waiting for me at the door. Canon de Castro Mayer, who had been sent from the high office of Archdiocese Vicar General to be parish priest of the distant yet pleasant Belenzinho during the turmoil, had just told us about his appointment as auxiliary bishop of Campos. Naturally, we congratulated him enthusiastically.
This sequence of events sent a clear message. These consecutive appointments demonstrated Pius XII’s confidence, clearly recognizing the previous efforts of both priests.
These two surprises weren’t the biggest. Exactly one year later, a religious friend, whose name I dare not mention without checking with him (and he is traveling), handed me a letter from the Vatican addressed to me.
It was an official letter written in Latin, signed by Most Rev. Giovanni Battista Montini, who was then the head of the Holy See Secretariat of State. Here is the text:
‘Vatican Palace, February 26, 1949
Illustrious Sir,
Your dedication and filial piety prompted you to offer the Holy Father the book In Defense of Catholic Action, in which you show punctilious care and utmost diligence.
His Holiness is pleased with you for explaining and defending Catholic Action, which you know thoroughly and hold in high regard, with insight and clarity. This makes it clear to everyone how important it is to study and promote this supportive form of the hierarchical apostolate.
With all his heart, the August Pontiff expresses his wish that this work may produce abundant and meaningful results, and that you may receive many great consolations from it.
And as a token that this shall come to pass, he grants you the Apostolic Blessing.”
This time, everything became crystal clear. Pius XII praised and recommended the kamikaze’s book.
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Some might argue that these three developments brought our situation back to what it was before 1943. But that’s not correct. In a surprising and somewhat contradictory turn of events—too early to fully understand—it stayed the same for the former editors of Legionário. Still, a nearly similar event to these victories happened, which would greatly influence our future.
Father W. Mariaux, S.J., had established a remarkable Marian Sodality at St. Louis High School. When his superiors sent that notable Jesuit to Europe, some sodality members approached us, asking to join our group. They were about 15 young people with exceptional intelligence and a strong capacity for action.
They formed a united front with us, and Bishop Mayer bravely opened the doors of the influential monthly magazine Catolicismo, which he founded in 1951. This magazine once again raised the flag in the fight against progressivism. Bishop Mayer’s 1953 publication of the Pastoral Letter on Problems of the Modern Apostolate, which condemned progressivism, was equally significant. It was later published in Italy, France, Spain, Canada, and Argentina.
Our numbers continued to grow. A young high school teacher and talented recruiter began bringing us a steady stream of new friends each year, children of Italians, Syrians, Japanese, Spaniards, Germans, and other immigrants.
Our interests increasingly expanded into the social realm as the country’s situation developed. So, in 1959, I wrote an essay outlining our main theses, Revolution and Counter-Revolution. The work was published in eight editions: two in Portuguese, one in French, one in Italian, and four in Spanish.
The stage was prepared for a different, typically civic and temporary action to emerge from all these antecedents.
In 1960, the Brazilian Society for the Defense of Tradition, Family, and Property was founded, uniting all friends whose idealism, misfortune, fidelity, and recent joys had become deeply connected into a single soul.
