#Vatican – On June 29, 2026, Pope Leo XIV sent a personal letter to Father Davide Pagliarani, superior general of the Society of Saint Pius X (SSPX), pleading with the traditionalist group to abandon its planned consecration of four bishops scheduled for July 1 at the seminary in Écône, Switzerland.
In the letter, released publicly on June 30, the pontiff addressed the SSPX leadership, priests, seminarians, and faithful with paternal affection. He acknowledged the society’s “devotion to liturgical life, commitment to priestly formation, apostolic zeal and desire for fidelity to Tradition.” Yet he warned that proceeding with the unauthorized consecrations would constitute a schismatic act of “extreme gravity,” potentially depriving the faithful of licit — and in some cases valid — sacraments while tearing at the “seamless garment of Christ.”
The pope expressed openness to continued dialogue under the guidance of the Holy Spirit and entrusted the matter to the Immaculate Heart of Mary. The appeal came one day before the ceremony, following months of strained communications. SSPX had announced the consecrations in February after requests for an audience with Pope Leo went unanswered, and it issued a declaration of faith to the pope and cardinals on June 24 reaffirming its traditional stance.
The four priests slated for episcopal ordination — Pascal Schreiber of Switzerland, Michael Goldade of the United States, Michel Poinsinet de Sivry of France, and Marc Hanappier of France — were to receive consecration from existing SSPX bishops without papal mandate. Vatican officials had previously stated that participants would incur automatic excommunication, echoing the 1988 events when Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre consecrated four bishops, leading to a formal schism declaration later lifted for the individuals by Pope Benedict XVI in 2009.
Pope Leo XIV, the first American and Augustinian pontiff elected in 2025, had warned the group as recently as mid-June that the move risked deepening division. Catholic commentators and officials, including Cardinal Gerhard Müller, described the planned action as schismatic. Traditionalist voices, however, viewed the consecrations as necessary for the society’s survival amid ongoing disputes over post-Vatican II reforms.
As of June 30, the SSPX had not publicly responded to the letter, leaving uncertainty over whether the July 1 ceremony would proceed as announced.
Image: Pope Leo XIV as seen on the Solemnity of Saint Peter and Paul on June 29th, 2026.
