The traditionalist Priestly Society of St. Pius X (SSPX) announced plans to consecrate new bishops on July 1 without Vatican approval, signaling a potential break with Rome. Superior General Father Davide Pagliarani says a requested audience with Pope Francis produced a Vatican letter he deemed unsatisfactory. The SSPX emphasizes it does not seek schism, but stalled talks with the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith and previous tensions over Vatican II reforms make the situation fraught.
Traditionalist SSPX Threatens Break With Rome — Plans To Consecrate Bishops Without Vatican Approval
A new priest blesses faithfuls after an ordination mass of the breakaway fundamentalist Roman Catholic Society of St Pius X in Econe, western Switzerland.(Getty Images)
The Priestly Society of St. Pius X (SSPX), a longstanding traditionalist Catholic group, warned this weekend that it may break with Rome by proceeding with episcopal consecrations without the Holy See's authorization. The society says it intends to carry out the consecrations on July 1.
The SSPX exclusively celebrates the Traditional Latin Mass and has long opposed certain reforms introduced by the Second Vatican Council. Those differences have left the society at odds with successive Vatican administrations, even as popes have made intermittent efforts to normalize relations.
SSPX superior general Father Davide Pagliarani said he sought an audience with Pope Francis in August to request permission for new bishops. According to Pagliarani, the society instead received a letter from the Vatican that he says "does not in any way respond to our requests." The statement suggested talks with the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith — held over the past year, according to press reports — may have reached an impasse.
Pope Benedict XVI remitted the excommunications for Lefebvre and his four bishops in 2009, but did not grant them full ministry.
Background: Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre, founder of the SSPX, was declared schismatic and was excommunicated in 1988 by Pope John Paul II after he ordained four bishops without Vatican approval. In 2009, Pope Benedict XVI remitted the excommunications of those four bishops as a step toward reconciliation, though full regularization of the society was not achieved.
Pope Francis has granted limited pastoral faculties to SSPX clergy in recent years — notably measures to recognize confessions and permit marriages in particular circumstances — but has been clear that SSPX members will not receive a formal, recognized ministry within the Church unless they accept the doctrinal and disciplinary reforms stemming from Vatican II.
Pagliarani's position: He has repeatedly denied that the SSPX seeks a formal schism. On the society's 50th anniversary in November 2024, Pagliarani said the group’s primary aim remains the good of the universal Church and quoted Lefebvre in urging continuity with what they regard as the Church’s magisterium.
The planned July 1 consecrations would mark a significant escalation if carried out without Rome's approval, raising questions about canonical status, sacramental faculties, and the future trajectory of relations between the SSPX and the Vatican. Observers say the move could harden positions on both sides and complicate ongoing efforts at dialogue.
Help us improve.
