Vatican declares Society of St. Pius X in schism, excommunicates bishops

Key developments are emerging from the global stage. Religion Vatican declares Society of St. Pius X in schism, excommunicates bishops July 2, 20264:54 AM ET By The Associated Press Newly consecrated Bishops, from left, Marc Hanappier, Michel Poinsinet de Sivry, Michael Goldade and Pascal Schreiber wearing their miters and holding their pastoral staffs, stand at the end of their consecration ceremony in a tent set up outside the Society of St. Pius X seminary in Econe, Switzerland, Wednesday, July 1, 2026.

Baz Ratner/AP hide caption toggle caption Baz Ratner/AP VATICAN CITY — The Vatican responded aggressively Thursday to a traditionalist society that consecrated bishops without the pope's consent, declaring the Society of St. Pius X in schism, excommunicating its bishops and priests and warning its faithful they too face the harshest sanctions in the Catholic Church. Religion Pope Leo takes aim at big tech in sweeping encyclical on AI The Vatican's doctrine office went above and beyond the minimal sanctions foreseen by the church's canon law to respond to the consecrations Wednesday of four new bishops at the society's Econe, Switzerland, seminary.

The Details

The society, known by its acronym SSPX, celebrates the ancient Latin Mass and opposes the modernizing reforms of the Catholic Church, which it considers to be rife with heresies and errors and has accused of straying from the Catholic faith. During a ritual-filled, five-hour Mass on Wednesday, attended by some 15,500 people and their children, the SSPX consecrated four new bishops in direct defiance of Pope Leo XIV, who had urged the SSPX to hold off for the sake of the church's unity. Sponsor Message In a decree, the Vatican excommunicated the four new bishops and the two bishops who participated in the ceremony.

It declared the consecrations a "schismatic act" and declared the society itself had created a schism, or intentional rupture with the Catholic Church. The Vatican warned the faithful who go to the society's Masses to stop, declaring "those who adhere formally" to the society are considered themselves schismatic and excommunicated. It declared SSPX priests to be schismatic, and therefore excommunicated, and invalidated the sacraments of confession and marriage that they administer.

The sanctions, especially those targeting the priests, the faithful and the sacraments they can receive, were particularly harsh and reversed concessions the Vatican had granted the SSPX in recent years as part of its outreach to bring the group back under Rome's wing. Nuns attend a consecration ceremony for four new bishops in a tent set up outside the Society of St. Pius X seminary, in Econe, Switzerland, Wednesday, July 1, 2026.

Baz Ratner/AP hide caption toggle caption Baz Ratner/AP French Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre founded the SSPX in 1970 in opposition to the modernizing reforms of the Second Vatican Council.

The development has drawn wide international attention, with diplomatic circles watching closely.