Vatican declares Society of St. Pius X in schism and excommunicates its bishops and priests
The Holy See announced that the Society of St. Pius X has entered into schism, excommunicating the four newly consecrated bishops, the two bishops who performed the rites, and its priests, and warned the faithful against participating in its sacraments.
The Vatican’s Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith issued a decree on Thursday stating that the Society of St. Pius X (SSPX) is in schism after it consecrated four bishops without papal approval at its seminary in Econe, Switzerland. The decree excommunicated the four new bishops and the two bishops who took part in the ceremony, and declared SSPX priests themselves schismatic and therefore excommunicated. It also invalidated the sacraments of confession and marriage administered by those priests and warned the faithful that attending SSPX Masses could subject them to the same penalties.
The consecrations, attended by about 15,500 participants, were carried out despite Pope Francis’ earlier urging the society to postpone the rite for the sake of church unity. The Vatican’s response goes beyond the minimum penalties prescribed by canon law, reversing concessions granted in recent years as part of an outreach effort.
SSPX, founded in 1970 by Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre in opposition to reforms of the Second Vatican Council, has previously faced excommunication after similar unauthorized consecrations in 1988. Pope Benedict XVI lifted those excommunications in 2009, but the society has remained without canonical status. The current decree marks a renewed hardline stance after decades of dialogue.
"We are accused of not respecting the pope," SSPX superior Rev. Davide Pagliarani said in his homily, adding that the society’s actions stem from its love for the pope and a desire to avoid his humiliation.
According to SSPX statistics, the group now includes six bishops, 751 priests, 264 seminarians, and hundreds of religious members across 50 nationalities.