DOM THOMAS AQUINAS FERREIRA DA COSTA

WHO IS DOM THOMAS AQUINAS FERREIRA DA COSTA, OUR NEW BISHOP: A TESTIMONY

Carlos Nougué

(Professor of the House of Studies Saint Anselm,

 of the Monastery of the Holy Cross)

Miguel Ferreira da Costa was born in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in 1954. Before starting the law career, he made his studies in the Saint Benedict College of Rio de Janeiro, where I had the opportunity to be his classmate during a brief time. He took part of the Traditionalist and anti-modernist movement organized around Gustavo Corção andPermanencia magazine; then, it began his life of “faithful warrior and veteran of the post-Conciliar war for the Faith”, as Bp. Williamson wrote. He began, as I said, to study Law, but he quit to become a monk with the name of Thomas Aquinas, in the French monastery of Barroux, which superior was Dom Gérard at that time; and he was ordained priest in 1980, in Ecône, by Archbishop Lefebvre. He was then able to enjoy the friendship, the example, the teaching of the SSPX’s founder.

He came to Brazil with a group of monks of Barroux to found the Monastery of the Holy Cross in Nova Friburgo, Rio de Janeiro / Brazil. However, in the meantime Dom Gérard, against the instances of AB Lefebvre, marched toward an agreement with the conciliar Rome, against which Dom Thomas Aquinas was also opposed. The split was inevitable. The Monastery of the Holy Cross, with the support of AB Lefebvre to Dom Thomas Aquinas, became independent, but friend of the SSPX. Indeed, AB Lefebvre wrote in a letter to Dom Thomas, letter which I had the privilege of reading, something like this: You must revere and consult the bishops of the SSPX, but they do not have jurisdiction over you because, as Prior of the Monastery, you must have autonomy.

But the relationship between Dom Thomas and his Monastery with the SSPX was becoming difficult, especially with the approach of the SSPX to neo-modernist Rome. When Benedict XVI released his Motu Proprio about the "extraordinary rite", Dom Thomas Aquinas refused to sing at the Sunday Mass the Te Deum asked by Bp. Fellay to celebrate the papal document, and, especially for the “lifting of the excommunications” by the same pope, Dom Thomas wrote to Bp. Fellay a letter where he said that he will not follow his steps towards an agreement with conciliar Rome. Sometime later, Bp. De Galarreta and Fr. Bouchacourt appeared at the Monastery (I’m an eyewitness) to say to Dom Thomas he had 15 days to leave the Monastery; otherwise the Monastery wouldn’t receive help and sacraments (Order included) from the SSPX.

I wrote to Bp. Fellay to complain about this injustice, and received for answer the following: “As long as he doesn’t leave the Monastery, this one will not receive our help”. I responded: “I should have the same mental problem, because I know him for twelve years and I never realized”. It truly was something similar to Stalinism and its psychiatric hospitals for opponents.

Then Dom Thomas hesitated: if he left the monastery, it would be its ruin regarding the Faith; but if he stayed, he would deprive it of all the help needed. It was then when Bp. Williamson came to the rescue: our English Bishop wrote a letter to Dom Thomas in which he assured the monastery all the sacraments; this way Dom Tomas could remain in it. This was enough for all of us to react: it was the beginning of what is now known as the Resistance, which had as first organ the website called SPES, today offline for having played the role to which it was destined. The Monastery then became the reception center for the priests who, wanting to leave the SSPX by the treachery of his superiors, hesitated to leave because they had nowhere to live. It was the consecration place of Bp. Faure and now it will be the place of the consecration of Dom Thomas Aquino Ferreira da Costa himself, my spiritual father and closest friend that God could had given to me. Yes, I’m his son and the Monastery of the Holy Cross’ son and it was here, in this little corner of heaven, I could feel for the first time the most pleasant odor of sanctity.