Traditionalist Catholic Group Defies Pope Leo XIV by Appointing Four New Bishops

Thousands of worshippers gathered in the Swiss village of Écône on Wednesday as the Society of Saint Pius X (SSPX) carried out the consecration of four new bishops, despite explicit appeals from Pope Leo XIV not to proceed.

The ceremony marks the latest chapter in the decades-long conflict between the Vatican and the traditionalist Catholic movement, which rejects many of the reforms introduced by the Second Vatican Council during the 1960s.

The consecrations took place at the SSPX's headquarters in southwestern Switzerland. The society's two remaining bishops ordained four successors—two from France, one from the United States and one from Switzerland—in a move carried out without papal authorization.

Before the ceremony, Pope Leo XIV had urged the group to abandon what he described as a schismatic act. Nevertheless, SSPX leaders argued that their actions were intended to preserve what they consider the authentic Catholic faith rather than break from the Church.

During the service, Superior General Davide Pagliarani described the occasion as a historic moment for the society. He maintained that the organization remains part of the Catholic Church through its adherence to what it views as the full and traditional expression of the faith.

The group's leadership also rejected the Vatican's authority to impose ecclesiastical penalties over the consecrations. At the opening of the ceremony, SSPX Secretary General Foucault Leroux stated that the organization considers any sanctions or censures related to its actions to be without effect.

Under Roman Catholic canon law, bishops who perform or receive episcopal consecration without the approval of the pope are generally considered to incur automatic excommunication. The Vatican has consistently maintained this position in similar cases.

The Society of Saint Pius X traces its origins to 1970, when French Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre founded the movement in opposition to changes introduced by the Second Vatican Council. The group's most significant rupture with Rome came in 1988, when Lefebvre consecrated four bishops without papal permission, triggering one of the most serious internal disputes within the modern Catholic Church.

Today, the SSPX says it has approximately 600,000 followers worldwide. While relations between the Vatican and the society have occasionally improved over the years, fundamental disagreements over Church authority, liturgy and post-Vatican II reforms have prevented a full reconciliation.

The latest consecrations are likely to deepen those divisions, reinforcing the unresolved dispute between the Holy See and one of the largest traditionalist Catholic movements operating outside the Vatican's formal authority.

Written by Freya Stensrud freya.stensrud@alpineweekly.com