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Vatican Declares SSPX in Schism, Excommunicates Over Defiant Bishop Ordinations
The Vatican formally declared the traditionalist Society of St. Pius X (SSPX) in schism and excommunicated its members after it consecrated four new bishops without Pope Leo XIV’s approval, rendering the group’s sacraments invalid.
Ordination Ceremony and Excommunication Decree
The Vatican has formally declared the Society of St. Pius X (SSPX) to be in schism with the Catholic Church. According to a decree issued on Thursday, the bishops, priests and lay members who knowingly took part in the consecration of four new bishops without Pope Leo XIV’s approval are excommunicated, will no longer be considered members of the Church and their sacred rites are now deemed illicit.
The crisis erupted on Wednesday when a five-hour ordination ceremony took place at the SSPX seminary in Écône, Switzerland. Some 16,500 faithful attended the service during which Bishop Alfonso de Galarreta consecrated Pascal Schreiber, Michael Goldade, Michel Poinsinet de Sivry and Marc Hanappier through the laying on of hands.
In a letter sent on Tuesday, the day before the ceremony, Pope Leo XIV warned that an unauthorized consecration would be “an extremely grave sin” and would ultimately harm the faithful. Despite the pope’s appeal, the SSPX leadership went ahead with the ceremony, arguing that defending traditional Catholic faith against modernizing reforms was a “sacred duty.”
Automatic Excommunication and SSPX’s Response
Under canon law, both the bishop who consecrates another bishop without papal approval and the newly consecrated bishops incur automatic excommunication. The Vatican’s doctrinal office stressed in its decree that the SSPX’s sacraments—including marriage and confession—are now invalid.
The SSPX rejected the penalties. In a statement read during the liturgy, the ordination was defended as a “sacred duty” to preserve the Catholic faith. Fr. Davide Pagliarani, the society’s superior general, said, “Many will see this as an act of rebellion; yet the greatest sacrifice God can ask of us is to be treated as rebels when all we want is to serve a mother who is struggling in distress.”
The SSPX and the Second Vatican Council
Founded in 1970 by French Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre, the SSPX is a traditionalist movement that opposes the reforms introduced by the Second Vatican Council (1962–1965), particularly the abandonment of the Latin Mass. Pope Leo XIV has repeatedly stressed that the council contains the “essential elements” of Catholic teaching, while the SSPX rejects some of those reforms.
The society, which today operates worldwide with its own bishops, hundreds of priests, seminaries and religious communities, considers itself Catholic but, according to the Vatican, has no official status within the Church.
A Similar Schism in 1988
The current crisis recalls an episode in 1988. Back then, the SSPX’s founder Lefebvre consecrated four bishops without the permission of Pope John Paul II, prompting the Vatican to declare the act schismatic and to excommunicate those involved. One of the bishops consecrated at that time was Alfonso de Galarreta, who played the leading role in this week’s ceremony.
In 2009 Pope Benedict XVI lifted the 1988 excommunications in an effort to foster dialogue, but the SSPX never gained full canonical status. That reconciliation attempt caused embarrassment for Benedict and triggered a crisis with Jewish leaders because one of the four bishops whose excommunication was lifted, Richard Williamson, was a Holocaust denier.
The Vatican’s latest decision is seen as the most serious challenge to Pope Leo’s authority since his election last year and a severe blow to efforts to heal divisions within the Church.
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