SSPX consecrates four bishops in Switzerland, defying Pope Leo XIV

The Society of Saint Pius X (SSPX), a traditionalist Catholic group, has defied Pope Leo XIV by consecrating four bishops in Écône, Switzerland, on Wednesday, 01.07.2026, triggering an immediate excommunication for the new prelates and deepening a decades-old schism within the Church .
The ceremony, held in the Swiss Alps and attended by 15,000–20,000 worshippers, was conducted in Latin under the pre-Vatican II rite, a deliberate rejection of reforms introduced by the Second Vatican Council. The newly consecrated bishops—Swiss Pascal Schreiber, American Michael Goldade, and Frenchmen Michel Poinsinet de Sivry and Marc Hanappier—were ordained by SSPX leaders Alfonso de Galarreta and Bernard Fellay, the last surviving bishops consecrated by the group’s founder, Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre, in 1988 .
Pope Leo XIV had issued a final appeal on Tuesday, urging the SSPX to abandon the consecrations, warning that such an act would constitute schism and result in automatic excommunication. The Vatican’s Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith reiterated this stance, noting that the ordinations violated canon law and severed the new bishops from the Catholic Church .
SSPX Superior General Davide Pagliarini dismissed the Vatican’s warnings, declaring in his homily that the group would “pay any price” to serve the Church, accusing Rome of betrayal and false ecumenism. “We are accused of not loving the Pope, but because we love him, we refuse to see him humiliated alongside false shepherds,” Pagliarini said, echoing the SSPX’s long-standing opposition to interfaith dialogue and modern liturgical reforms .
The SSPX, founded in 1970 by Lefebvre, has been in open conflict with Rome for nearly 50 years. Pope John Paul II excommunicated Lefebvre and the four bishops consecrated in 1988, while Pope Benedict XVI lifted the excommunications in 2009 despite ongoing tensions. The group, which claims 720 priests and 500,000 followers worldwide, now faces renewed isolation as the Vatican prepares to formalize the excommunications of the four new bishops and their consecrators .
Follow us for live European news
- 3
- 2
- 2
- 1
- 1
- 1
- 1
- 1
- 1
- 1










