ROME — Pope Leo XIV is making a direct, heartfelt appeal to a breakaway traditionalist Catholic organization, urging the group to abandon its plans to ordain new bishops without his approval — a move the pope described as a schismatic act and a “sin of extreme gravity.”
In a letter addressed to the Rev. Davide Pagliarani, the leader of the Society of St. Pius X, the pope wrote: “I plead with you and ask you with all my heart: please turn back!”
The letter was released just one day before the society had scheduled the consecration of four new bishops at its seminary located in Econe, Switzerland. According to Catholic Church law, proceeding with such consecrations without papal consent constitutes a schismatic act and automatically results in excommunication for the four new bishops as well as the bishop who performs the ceremony.
The Society of St. Pius X — commonly referred to as the SSPX — was established in opposition to the sweeping reforms introduced during the Second Vatican Council in the 1960s. That council transformed the Catholic Church in significant ways, including changing its relationship with other faiths and allowing Mass to be held in local languages rather than Latin.
This situation echoes a similar crisis from 1988, when SSPX founder Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre consecrated four bishops without the pope’s permission — a serious violation of church law. The Vatican responded by excommunicating Lefebvre and all four bishops. Despite that action, the group has never been granted official standing within the church.
Vatican officials have made clear that those involved in the upcoming ceremony face the same consequences.
In his letter, Leo also reiterated the Vatican’s willingness to engage in dialogue with the group and warned that moving forward with the consecrations would ultimately harm the SSPX’s own followers.
“I urge you to consider carefully the spiritual good of the faithful, 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,” the pope wrote.
Even with its complicated legal standing in the church, the SSPX has continued to expand over the decades and now represents a significant challenge to the Vatican as an alternative, ultra-traditional Catholic institution operating outside of official church structures. According to the group’s own figures, the SSPX currently has two bishops, 751 priests, 264 seminarians, 145 religious brothers, 88 oblates, and 250 religious sisters drawn from 50 different countries.
