 In 1923 Lefebvre began studies for the priesthood ; at the insistence of his father he followed his brother to the French Seminary in Rome , as his father suspected the diocesan seminaries of liberal leanings . He would later credit his conservative views to the rector , a Breton priest named Father Henri Le <unk> . His studies were interrupted in 1926 and 1927 when he did his military service . On 25 May 1929 he was ordained deacon by Cardinal Basilio <unk> in the Basilica of St. John Lateran in Rome . On 21 September 1929 he was ordained to the priesthood by Bishop ( soon to be Cardinal ) Achille Liénart in Lille , the diocese in which he was incardinated . After ordination , he continued his studies in Rome , completing a doctorate in theology in July 1930 . 
