SSPX consecrates four bishops without papal mandate

On July 1, the SSPX consecrated four new bishops for the Society on the grounds of its international seminary in Écône, Switzerland, despite repeated Vatican warnings that doing so without the Pope’s approval would result in excommunication for those involved.

Pope Leo XIV said in the days before the consecrations that the Church must “move on” if the SSPX followed through on its threat regarding consecrating bishops. He also sent a letter to the Society’s superior, published by the Vatican the day before the consecrations, urging the group to turn back from committing what he called a “sin of extreme gravity”.

“I urge you to consider the spiritual good of the faithful carefully, because the schismatic act you are about to undertake would deprive them of the licit and, in some cases, even valid reception of the sacraments, which they love and seek for their sanctification,” Pope Leo wrote in his letter, EWTN News reported.

But Fr Davide Pagliarani, superior general of the SSPX, said in his homily at the consecration Mass that the Pope’s appeal presented a “false dilemma” between the Society’s vision of the faith and its adherence to the Church.

“No one can choose between faith and the Church,” he said. The Society saw the consecrations as necessary to ensure their continuity and survival.

The four bishops consecrated are Pascal Schreiber, a 53-year-old Swiss priest ordained at Écône in 1998; American Michael Goldade; Michel Poinsinet de Sivry, 42; and Marc Happier, 36, both French, Vatican News reported.

Moments before becoming bishops, the four priests swore obedience to the Catholic Church, the Pope and his legitimate successors. The new bishops answered affirmatively to the liturgical question, “Habetis mandatum apostolicum?” (“Do you have the Apostolic Mandate?”).

The main celebrant performing the consecrations was Bishop Alfonso de Galarreta, with Bishop Bernard Fellay serving as co-consecrator. They are the two surviving bishops among the four originally consecrated by Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre in 1988. According to canon law, carrying out such consecrations without a papal mandate incurs latae sententiae (automatic) excommunication.

Organisers said some 16,600 adults attended the outdoor Mass outside the society’s international seminary. Many attendees brought young children, who were not included in that count.

Reacting to the events at Écône, the Vatican’s Secretary of State, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, told journalists he wished “to express deep sorrow because, when speaking of the unity of the Church, an act of this kind deeply wounds that unity”, CruxNow reported.

FULL STORY

Defying pope and facing excommunication, SSPX consecrates bishops at huge outdoor Mass (By Justin McLellan/National Catholic Reporter)

Pope Leo XIV pleads with SSPX to halt episcopal consecrations (EWTN News)

Lefebvrians consecrate four new bishops without a papal mandate (Vatican News)

Parolin: ‘Deep sorrow’ over SSPX ordinations (CruxNow)

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Cardinal calls for Vatican commission for SSPX defectors (The Pillar)