The Vatican excommunicated six bishops from the ultraconservative Society of St. Pius X (SSPX) on Thursday, July 2, 2026, following their consecration of four new bishops without papal approval. The Vatican warned that lay believers who “formally adhere” to the breakaway group would face the same penalty.
Defiance Leads to Excommunication
The decree came a day after the traditionalist group consecrated four bishops in Econe, Switzerland, openly defying a plea from Pope Leo XIV to desist. The Vatican’s Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith called the ceremony “an act of schismatic nature,” stating that the consecrations were “in open violation of canonic law” and that the bishops involved are “schismatics.”
For the Holy See, consecrating bishops without the pope’s approval—who leads over 1.4 billion Catholics—is a direct act of insubordination, resulting in automatic excommunication. The excommunication covers the four newly ordained bishops (two French, one American, and one Swiss) and the two existing bishops who presided over the ceremony.
Society of St. Pius X: Background and Response
The SSPX, founded in 1970 by French Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre, has around 600,000 followers worldwide. It opposes the liberal reforms of the Second Vatican Council (1962–1965) and celebrates Latin Mass with priests facing away from the congregation. The group previously triggered a rift in 1988 by consecrating four bishops, leading to excommunication, which Pope Benedict XVI lifted in 2009.
During the ceremony, SSPX Secretary General Foucault Leroux declared that “any penalties and censures … are null and void.” Superior General Davide Pagliarani called it a “historic” day, stating, “Are we breaking with the Church in order to keep the faith? That is a false dilemma. We belong to the Church first through faith, through the integral profession of the Church’s faith.”
Vatican’s Warnings and Pastoral Tone
The Vatican expressed frustration, noting that “many attempts” since the time of Pope Paul VI (died 1978) to reconcile with the SSPX “have proved fruitless.” Lay faithful who “formally adhere” to the group will be considered schismatics and excommunicated. Confessions and marriages presided over by the newly ordained bishops are deemed “invalid.”
However, a 1996 document from the Pontifical Council for Legislative Texts states that “mere occasional participation” without adopting the group’s “attitude of doctrinal and disciplinary disunion” does not incur excommunication. The Vatican concluded, “The Church, as a caring mother, will welcome with sincere affection and lively concern all those who desire to return to full communion.”
Pope Leo’s Plea and Church’s Sorrow
In a letter to the SSPX on Monday, Pope Leo warned that “to tear the seamless garment of Christ is a sin of extreme gravity,” pleading, “I plead with you and ask you with all my heart: please turn back!” Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin told journalists on Wednesday that the Church felt “deep sorrow” over the ordinations, stating, “An act of this kind deeply wounds the unity of the Church.”
The consecration ceremony, attended by thousands, took place in the same meadows near the SSPX seminary in Econe, with a five-and-a-half-hour Latin Mass.
