 On 18 September 1947 he was consecrated a bishop in his family's parish church in Tourcoing by Achille Liénart (who had previously ordained him a priest); acting as co-consecrators were Bishop Jean-Baptiste Fauret and Bishop Alfred-Jean-Félix Ancel.In his new position Lefebvre was responsible for an area with a population of three and a half million people, of whom only 50,000 were Catholics.On 22 September 1948, Lefebvre, while continuing as Vicar Apostolic of Dakar, received additional responsibilities