Traditionalist Group Proceeding with Bishop Consecrations Amid Papal Opposition

VATICAN CITY — A breakaway faction of traditionalist Catholics, facing the looming risk of schism and excommunication, is set to defy Pope Leo XIV by consecrating four bishops without his approval.

The Society of St. Pius X (SSPX) has scheduled a large ceremony for Wednesday at its seminary in Econé, a mountain valley in Switzerland’s southwest. The event is expected to attract thousands of attendees who prefer the ancient Latin Mass over the modern rites celebrated by most of the Catholic Church.

Despite Pope Leo XIV’s last‑minute appeal to cancel the rite, the SSPX will proceed with the consecrations. In a letter released Tuesday, the pontiff warned that appointing bishops without pontifical mandate constitutes a “sin of extreme gravity” that could harm their faithful.

Church canon law holds that conceiving a bishop in the absence of a papal mandate incurs the severest penalty: automatic excommunication for the new bishops and the consecrating prelate. The act is also regarded as schismatic, signifying a deliberate rupture of Catholic unity.

Yet Wednesday’s event exudes a celebratory tone. The SSPX’s website has been counting down the hours, and video footage shows seminarians cheerfully disassembling equipment. Attendees will receive a baseball cap stamped with the “Econe2026” emblem.

As another celebratory element, registrants can buy a commemorative wine set. The 75‑Swiss‑franc “Cuvee des Sacres” box contains four bottles—pinot noir, Syrah, Petit Arvine, and Fendant—each adorned with bishop‑themed labels, including a pointed miter, ring, cross, or crozier.

To the SSPX, the prospect of schism or excommunication is inconsequential. The group believes it alone preserves Catholic tradition and the faith’s integrity.

“We do not fear the consequences. Though it pains us, we believe the good we aim to achieve outweighs the suffering it may bring,” said Marc‑André Mabillard, the society’s media manager.

Following Pope Leo XIV’s letter, the SSPX superior, Rev. Davide Pagliarani, urged the pontiff to postpone any punitive measures.

The ceremony takes place exactly 38 years after the Vatican declared the SSPX’s prior episcopal consecrations a schismatic act that triggered automatic excommunication.

Marcel Lefebvre, the French archbishop who founded the SSPX in opposition to the reforms of the Second Vatican Council, once led the ultratraditionalist movement. The council’s 1960s changes redefined the Church’s ecumenical approach, permitting vernacular liturgies and fostering dialogue with other faiths.

Today the SSPX maintains the ancient Latin Mass and accuses the contemporary Church of harboring heretical tendencies such as modernism, liberalism, and ecumenism. The organization insists it alone preserves the true teachings of Christ, justifying its consecrations through a “state of necessity” necessary to minister to its faithful.

However, many Catholics, even those on the conservative end, oppose the consecrations, viewing them as grave disobedience to the Pope that undermines church unity.

“You cannot uphold tradition by disobeying the Church’s authority,” cautioned Rev. Robert Gahl, an ethics expert at the Catholic University of America.

Biographer George Weigel has argued that the SSPX–Vatican split extends beyond the language of the Mass.

Weigel contended that the divide stems from a rejection of the Second Vatican Council’s teachings on salvation, religious liberty, church–state relations, and interreligious engagement.

Weigel noted that Lefebvre had supported the Vichy regime during World II, and one of his original SSPX bishops has denied the Holocaust.

The SSPX has defended the consecrations as a necessity, citing that only two of the original four bishops remain alive and that the organization requires additional bishops to serve its extensive community, which includes 800 parishes across 77 countries.

The group rejects the notion that it is rejecting Leo XIV’s authority; instead, it insists that creating four new bishops enables it to ordain priests and conduct confirmations in the traditional rite.

The SSPX announced the four new bishops: Pascal Schreiber (Switzerland), Michael Goldade (United States), Michel Poinsinet de Sivry (France), and Marc Hanappier (France).

In response to the Pope’s letter, Mabillard expressed regret that the organization was misunderstood, adding that it would uphold its plans unharmed.

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