The Vatican’s rift with the Society of Saint Pius X (SSPX) has widened after the breakaway group consecrated four new bishops in Econe, Switzerland, on July 1, 2026. Despite Pope Leo XIV’s plea to halt what he described as a “schismatic act,” the SSPX went ahead with the ordinations before thousands of worshippers. The new bishops — Michel Poinsinet de Sivry and Marc Hanappier from France, Michael Goldade from the United States, and Pascal Schreiber from Switzerland — were consecrated by the society’s two remaining bishops, who argued that succession was necessary for survival as they grew older.

The ceremony, a five‑and‑a‑half‑hour Latin mass, was marked by traditional rites including the Litany of the Saints and the laying on of hands. SSPX’s Superior General Davide Pagliarani called it a “historic day,” while the society’s secretary general declared that papal penalties were “null and void.” The Vatican, however, responded with sorrow and firmness. Pope Leo warned that consecrating bishops without papal approval “tears the seamless garment of Christ” and constitutes a sin of extreme gravity. Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Vatican’s Secretary of State, said the act “deeply wounds the unity of the Church.”

Founded in 1970 by Marcel Lefebvre, the SSPX has long opposed the liberal reforms of Vatican II and previously triggered a major rupture in 1988 with similar consecrations. Today, the group claims 600,000 followers across 75 countries, holding strictly traditional Latin masses with priests facing away from congregations. For SSPX leaders, the ordinations were not about defiance but about continuity, ensuring that their movement has enough bishops to sustain its global presence.