Vatican declares SSPX in formal schism, excommunicates bishops after defiant consecrations
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The new traditionalist Catholic consacred bishops Swiss Pascal Schreiber, US' Michael Goldade, French Michel Poinsinet de Sivry and French Marc Hanappier seat next to Spanish born traditionalist Catholic Bishop of the Society of Saint Pius X (SSPX) Alfonso de Galarreta during the schismatic consecration of bishops by the traditionalist Catholic Society of Saint Pius X (SSPX) in Econe, western Switzerland, on July 1, 2026. Photograph: (AFP)
The Vatican has declared the SSPX in formal schism and excommunicated its newly consecrated bishops after unauthorised ordinations in Switzerland.
The Vatican on Thursday excommunicated the consecrated bishops by the traditionalist Society of St Pius X (SSPX) and declared it is in a formal schism, warning its Bishops and Priests that they will face the harshest sanction for participating in the movement. The aggressive crackdown by the Vatican followed a formal act of defiance, by the ultraconservatives, SSPX, which celebrates the ancient Latin Mass and opposes the modernising reforms of the Catholic Church.
The ultraconservatives celebrated a ritual-filled, five-hour Mass on Wednesday in Econe, Switzerland, attended by some 15,500 people and their children, where two Bishops were consecrated. The consecration was in defiance of the Vatican and Pope Leo XIV, who had previously urged SSPX to hold off for the sake of the church's unity.
Also Read: Traditionalist Catholics reject Pope Leo XVI and Vatican authority in a dramatic showdown
SSPX formation was a schismatic act
The group was formed in opposition to the Second Vatican Council in 1970 by French Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre to protest the modernising reforms. In 1975, the SSPX founder, Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre, was suspended, and the society was suppressed by the Vatican. But the group remain active and in 1988, it consecrated four bishops without papal consent. The group still has no legal status in the Vatican.
Under canon law, consecrating a bishop without papal authority automatically results in excommunication or issuance of a decree. But the church on Thursday declared the priests to be schismatics and therefore excommunicated.
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The group maintains that uncompromising traditionalism is the only shield against the peril of modernism. The group continues to grow its influence with six bishops, 751 priests, 264 seminarians, 145 religious brothers, 88 oblates and 250 religious sisters representing 50 nationalities. The SSPX superior, Fr Davide Pagliarani, has justified the consecrations as a “state of necessity” to save souls.
