Denis Chicoine - Aftermath and Recovery

Aftermath and Recovery

With the departure of Schuckardt, the Mount Saint Michael group was without a bishop. Chicoine, along with his associate priests, Benedict Hughes and James McGIlloway and other clergy, began searching for other Traditionalist Catholic bishops. They initiated contact with Bishop George Musey of Galveston, Texas. Musey was a priest who broke from the mainstream church over the reforms of the Second Vatican Council and was consecrated bishop by Moises Carmona of Acapulco, Mexico. Carmona had been consecrated by the Vietnamese Roman Catholic prelate Archbishop Ngo Dinh Thuc.

In 1985, Chicoine, Hughes and McGilloway were conditionally ordained as priests by the Traditionalist Catholic Bishop George Musey. Musey himself stated his belief that these three priests had been validly ordained by Schuckardt, but was conditionally ordaining them to appease the doubts of some about the validity of Schuckardt's Old Catholic orders.

Chicoine led the Congregation of Mary Immaculate Queen as Superior General and oversaw the Congregation's drafting of a rule. The rule was approved by Bishop Robert McKenna, O.P.. In 1989, Chicoine retired as Superior General and moved to New Zealand to work as a parish priest in the CMRI's mission there. He was succeeded by Father Mark Pivarunas.

In 1994 Chicoine was diagnosed with cancer and lived the remaining days of his life back in Spokane at Mount Saint Michael. He died on August 10, 1995.