Florian Abrahamowicz

Florian Abrahamowicz
Born	(1961-04-07) April 7, 1961 Vienna, Austria
Occupation	Priest
Known for	Traditionalist Catholicism, Sedevacantism, former Prior of Society of St. Pius X in northeastern Italy

Florian "Floriano" Abrahamowicz (born 7 April 1961) is an Austrian priest adhering to Sedevacantism and affiliated with the Congregation of Mary Immaculate Queen. Previously, he served as the Prior of the Society of St. Pius X in northeastern Italy but was removed in February 2009 due to his outspoken sedevacantist beliefs.

Early life and ordination

Florian was born in Vienna. His father, Alexander Abrahamowicz (born 1926), was a Protestant pastor of Armenian descent. Through his mother, Maria Teresa Amantea, an Italian pianist, Florian also possesses Italian citizenship.

Among five siblings, three pursued the priesthood within the Roman Catholic Church. Two of these priests are unaffiliated with either the Society of St. Pius X or traditionalist factions. One brother, Dom Johannes Paul Abrahamowicz, held the position of Prior (underabbot) at the Benedictine Abbey of Saint Paul Outside the Walls between 2005 and 2009. He also oversaw the ATLAS project for the Benedictine Order OSB International website until 2008. Additionally, he composed the official hymn for the Pauline Year and participated in ecumenical efforts before returning to his Austrian monastery in 2009.

An aunt, Elfriede Huber-Abrahamowicz (1922–2001), was known as a writer and lecturer specializing in feminist philosophy based in Zürich.

Political views

In 2001, Abrahamowicz delivered a speech at a commemorative event honoring supporters of Benito Mussolini's Italian Social Republic, referring to them as "innocent victims" while condemning the partisans as adherents of what Pius XI labeled a corrupt sect—communism.

In 2006, he characterized Erich Priebke, a German SS officer convicted for war crimes in Rome, not as an "executioner" but rather as a soldier who acted "with regret and a heavy heart."

He is regarded as the de facto chaplain for Italy's regional political party Lega Nord. In 2007, party leader Umberto Bossi participated in a Tridentine Mass organized by Abrahamowicz and acknowledged ideological parallels between his party and followers of Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre.

In 2008, Cardinal Dionigi Tettamanzi of Milan supported establishing Muslim places of worship—a position Abrahamowicz openly contested during Mario Borghezio's Padania Association radio broadcast. He accused Tettamanzi of being a covert agent working to destabilize the Church internally and charged the Conciliar Church with collaborating with forces intent on Islamizing Europe.

Religious views

On 5 February 2009, following the Holy See’s statement regarding conditions for recognizing the Society of Saint Pius X (SSPX), Abrahamowicz appeared on television declaring that the Second Vatican Council represented something worse than heresy. He referenced Pope Pius X’s description of modernism as the cloaca maxima—the greatest sewer—of heresies.

Earlier, on 25 January 2009, after excommunications against SSPX bishops were lifted, he denied that any excommunication had ever been validly imposed. He portrayed Archbishop Lefebvre’s episcopal consecrations as commendable acts and cited Lefebvre’s assertion that modernists who excommunicated SSPX members were themselves excommunicated by Saint Pius X. Abrahamowicz sharply criticized Pope Benedict XVI for perpetuating what he termed modernist ecumenism, which he claimed resulted in excommunication.

On 15 March 2010, following a Mass held in Treviso, he publicly set fire to a compilation of documents from Vatican II.

Controversy Surrounding Holocaust Denial

On 29 January 2009, during the uproar caused by Bishop Richard Williamson's denial of the Holocaust, Abrahamowicz challenged the accepted use of gas chambers beyond their role in disinfection, questioned the reliability of the six million Jewish deaths figure, and expressed criticism regarding the Holocaust's elevated focus compared to other genocides. Additionally, he made contentious statements concerning the religious identity of the people of Israel.

Removal from SSPX

On 5 February 2009, Abrahamowicz was expelled from the Italian branch of the Society of St. Pius X due to "serious disciplinary reasons." The organization cited his public declarations that conflicted with official Society doctrines and expressed apprehension about potential damage to its reputation and ecclesiastical mission.

Adoption of Sedevacantist Affiliation

Following his dismissal from SSPX, Abrahamowicz became affiliated with the American traditionalist group, the Congregation of Mary Immaculate Queen (CMRI), known for its sedevacantist stance. In 2016, Bishop Mark Pivarunas of CMRI administered confirmation to 20 individuals in Paese during a Mass presided over by Abrahamowicz; however, the Diocese of Treviso described these confirmations as "valid but illicit."

External links

• Official website of Florian Abrahamowicz