Vatican condemns SSPX bishop ordinations as 'schismatic act', warning of consequences after Lefebvrists defy Pope Leo XIV

The ordination in Ecône

On 1 July the Society of St. Pius X (SSPX) carried out the illicit consecration of four bishops at its seminary in Ecône, Switzerland. The ceremony was led by Bishop Alfonso de Galarreta, assisted by Bishop Bernard Fellay, and was broadcast online. The new bishops are Pascal Schreiber (Switzerland), Pascal Schreiber (United States), Michel Poinsinet de Sivry (France) and Marc Hanappier (France). Several thousand people gathered at the site, including a group of Polish SSPX priests.

“They treat us like rebels. We are accused of not loving the pope, we are accused of a lack of respect, but precisely because we love the pope as the Vicar of Christ, we no longer want to see the pope being humiliated.”

The ordination took place despite a direct appeal from Pope Leo XIV, who on 30 June wrote to the society urging them to stop, warning that the act would deprive the faithful of access to valid sacraments.

Vatican response

Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Vatican Secretary of State, described the event as a 'schismatic act' that deeply wounds Church unity. Speaking to Vatican reporters at the Italian embassy to the Holy See, he said that ordinations without papal consent incur precise canonical penalties, although he added it was unclear when and how sanctions would be announced. He stressed that the Second Vatican Council is 'a milestone in the history of the Church and must be accepted.'

“It is an act of this kind, which deeply wounds the unity of the Church. It is a schismatic act that breaks the unity of the Church and will have consequences.”

The Vatican had already warned in mid‑May through the prefect of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, Cardinal Víctor Manuel Fernández, that the planned consecrations lacked a papal mandate and would constitute a schismatic act, citing John Paul II's motu proprio Ecclesia Dei.

Roots of the break

Polish theologian Fr. Prof. Andrzej Kobyliński called the consecrations a 'sad event' for the Catholic Church. 'We are witnessing a new schism,' he said, noting that Christianity is now divided into over 50,000 denominations and the SSPX would become one of them. The society, which claims about 500,000 faithful, more than 700 priests and over 200 seminarians, rejects key teachings of Vatican II, including ecumenism, inter‑religious dialogue and the use of vernacular languages in the liturgy.

“We are witnessing a new schism in the Catholic Church. The consecration of four new bishops by the Society of St. Pius X means the gradual exclusion of this association from the Church and the severing of its communion with the Holy See.”

Commentator Tomasz Krzyżak argued that the rupture is definitive. 'In my opinion it is already a completely separate church,' he said, pointing out that the SSPX has been building parallel structures since the first illicit consecrations in 1988.

“Yes, in my opinion it is already a completely separate church.”

Decades of unresolved tension

The SSPX was founded in 1970 by Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre. The first crisis erupted on 30 June 1988 when Lefebvre consecrated four bishops without John Paul II's consent, resulting in excommunication for all involved. Benedict XVI lifted the excommunications in 2009, and in 2016 Pope Francis granted SSPX priests faculties for hearing confessions, but the society's canonical status remained irregular. Over the years, the Holy See pursued dialogue, yet the SSPX maintained its rejection of conciliar reforms. On 30 June 2026, SSPX superior general Fr. Davide Pagliarani wrote to Leo XIV asking for a halt to any decisions against the society pending further discernment, but did not cancel the ordinations.

“Filled with Christian charity, I call on you and beg you with all my heart: turn back from this path! I encourage you to consider with all seriousness the spiritual good of the faithful, because the act of schism you would commit would deprive them of the possibility of receiving the sacraments worthily and, in some cases, even validly.”