The ultra-traditionalist Catholic group, the Society of Saint Pius X, on Wednesday consecrated four new bishops without the approval of Pope Leo XIV, defying a direct appeal from the pontiff to abandon what he described as a “schismatic act.”
The ordination ceremony took place in the Swiss village of Écône, where thousands of worshippers gathered as the society’s two remaining bishops ordained four priests into the episcopacy.
The newly consecrated bishops are French priests Michel Poinsinet de Sivry and Marc Hanappier, American priest Michael Goldade, and Swiss priest Pascal Schreiber.
Addressing the congregation, the society’s Superior General, Davide Pagliarani, described the event as a landmark in the group’s history.
“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,” he said.
Under Catholic canon law, bishops who participate in episcopal consecrations without papal approval incur automatic excommunication. However, the society rejected that position.
At the opening of the ceremony, the society’s secretary general, Foucault Leroux, declared that they considered “that all penalties and censures… are null and void”.
The Society of Saint Pius X, founded in 1970 by French Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre, has long opposed the reforms introduced by the Second Vatican Council, particularly changes to Catholic liturgy and doctrine.
The latest consecrations were held at the same location where the society carried out a similar ceremony in 1988, an event that deepened its longstanding dispute with the Vatican.
The Mass, celebrated entirely in Latin, lasted more than five hours. During the rite, the four candidates lay prostrate while the Litany of the Saints was chanted before receiving the laying on of hands and anointing, the central elements of episcopal ordination.
Among those attending was Swiss worshipper Marie Borgeat, who became emotional during the service and described the occasion as “a magnificent moment” after the newly ordained bishops blessed the faithful.
The ceremony was conducted on a large covered stage before hundreds of priests and nuns, while additional worshippers followed the proceedings on giant outdoor screens.
Ahead of the consecrations, Pope Leo XIV had issued a heartfelt appeal urging the group to reconsider.
“I plead with you and ask you with all my heart: please turn back!” Pope Leo wrote in a letter to the society on Monday, calling it a “schismatic act”.
“To tear the seamless garment of Christ is a sin of extreme gravity,” the pontiff said.
The Vatican also expressed disappointment over the move. The Holy See’s Secretary of State, Pietro Parolin, said the Church viewed the ordinations with “deep sorrow”.
“An act of this kind deeply wounds the unity of the Church,” he told reporters Wednesday.
He hoped “paths can be found that will make it possible to resolve this problem”.
Despite the Vatican’s stance, the society insists it remains faithful to the Catholic Church.
“There is absolutely nothing schismatic or anti-Church in our actions,” Father Michel Rion, a theology professor at the Écône seminary, told AFP.
“We hope that one day the pope will see that. For us, being schismatic is the worst thing that could happen. We would rather die than be schismatic.”
The society says it operates in more than 75 countries across six continents with over 750 priests. It continues to celebrate Mass according to the traditional Latin rite, with priests facing the altar rather than the congregation.
Explaining the decision to appoint additional bishops, American priest Paul Robinson said the society needed to ensure continuity of its leadership.
“We were very worried because our bishops were getting old and so it’s a question of our survival,” Robinson told reporters.
“Now we have six bishops and the two old bishops can now take a rest.”
