Vatican confirms six SSPX bishops excommunicated
The doctrinal office issued a decree after the illicit consecrations of four new bishops
The Vatican declared Thursday the excommunications of all six bishops of the traditionalist Society of St. Pius X following the illicit episcopal consecration in Écône, Switzerland on July 1.
The Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith issued a decree of excommunication and an explanatory note July 2, the day after the consecrations of four new SSPX bishops, despite a last-minute appeal from Pope Leo XIV and a final warning that proceeding would be an act of schism.
The decree warned clergy and laypeople that they would also incur the penalty of excommunication if they were “to adhere to the schism of the Society of St. Pius X.”
The Spanish-born Argentine Bishop Alfonso de Galarreta was the principal consecrator and Swiss Bishop Bernard Fellay was the co-consecrator at the July 1 ceremony at the SSPX’s headquarters.
The four new SSPX bishops were the French nationals Fr. Marc Hanappier, 36, and Fr. Michel Poinsinet de Sivry, 42, the U.S. citizen Fr. Michael Goldade, 46, and the Swiss national Fr. Pascal Schreiber, 53.
The Vatican decree, published in Italian and signed by doctrinal chief Cardinal Víctor Manuel Fernández and DDF officials, said: “Despite the warnings addressed to the superior general of the Society of St. Pius X, Bishop Alfonso de Galarreta, having committed an act of a schismatic nature through the episcopal consecration of four priests, without pontifical mandate and against the will of the Supreme Pontiff, has incurred ipso facto the penalties provided for in canon 1387 and canon 1364 § 1 CIC 2021.”
“I therefore declare, for all legal effects, that both the aforementioned Bishop Alfonso de Galarreta and Pascal Schreiber, Michael Goldade, Michel Poinsinet de Sivry, and Marc Hanappier have incurred ipso facto excommunication latae sententiae [automatic excommunication] reserved to the Apostolic See.”
The decree added: “I further declare that Bishop Bernard Fellay, having directly participated in the liturgical celebration as co-consecrator, and having thereby publicly adhered to the schismatic act, has incurred the excommunication latae sententiae provided for in canon 1364 § 1 CIC 2021.”
“Clergy and lay faithful are warned not to adhere to the schism of the Society of St. Pius X, as they would incur ipso facto the penalty of excommunication latae sententiae.”
An explanatory note, also released in Italian and signed by Fernández and DDF officials, said: “From the time of St. Paul VI up to the most recent talks held at this dicastery, the many attempts to bring back those adhering to the movement begun by Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre to full communion with the Catholic Church have proven fruitless.”
“This situation has been further aggravated by the recent episcopal consecrations carried out without pontifical mandate, against the will of the Holy Father, in open violation of canon law.”
“Therefore, this dicastery, in the faithful exercise of the functions entrusted to it, deems it necessary to note that this act has constituted the delict of schism, with the corresponding canonical consequences for the sacred ministers and lay faithful involved.”
“Indeed, as already declared in 1988, ‘such disobedience — which entails a practical rejection of the Roman Primacy — constitutes a schismatic act’ (cf. John Paul II, apostolic letter Ecclesia Dei, 3).”
The note articulated three points.
“1. The sacred ministers belonging to the Society of St. Pius X are in schism and must therefore be considered schismatics (cf. Ecclesia Dei, 5 c; Pontifical Council for Legislative Texts, Explanatory Note on the Excommunication for Schism Incurred by Adherents of the Movement of Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre, 24.08.1996, 5-6), and are thus subject to the excommunication provided for by law (can. 1364 § 1 CIC).”
“2. As regards the lay faithful, those who formally adhere to the Society of St. Pius X under the conditions established in the 1996 Explanatory Note of the Pontifical Council for Legislative Texts (cf. ibidem, 7) — which remains in force and which this Dicastery makes its own — are to be considered schismatic and excommunicated.”
“3. Finally, the holy People of God are warned that the sacred ministers of the Society of St. Pius X unlawfully administer the sacraments, and that the sacrament of penance they administer and the marriages they witness are invalid.”
The explanatory note concluded: “The Church, as a caring mother, will welcome with sincere affection and lively concern all those who wish to return to full communion. Apostolic nuncios will make available the procedures that Ordinaries may use in the various cases.”
“Finally, all the faithful are exhorted to remain steadfast in communion with the Roman Pontiff, with the bishops in communion with him, and with the whole Church (cf. Lumen gentium, 22; can. 751 CIC), and to refrain from participating in the celebrations and activities promoted by the aforementioned Society of St. Pius X.”
The episcopal ordinations were the first SSPX group consecrations since June 30, 1988, when the organization’s French founder Archbishop Lefebvre consecrated four bishops.
Following the deaths of Lefebvre in 1991, Bishop Bernard Tissier de Mallerais in 2024, and Bishop Richard Williamson (who was expelled from the SSPX) in 2025, de Galarreta and Fellay were the only surviving SSPX bishops.
The SSPX first announced that it planned to consecrate new bishops on Feb. 2, 2026, arguing the step was a legitimate response to an “objective state of grave necessity.”
The SSPX rejected Feb. 18 a Vatican request to postpone the consecrations and engage in a structured theological dialogue on Vatican Council II. The ecumenical council’s decrees and related liturgical changes prompted Lefebvre to found the SSPX in 1970.
The SSPX repeatedly sought a face-to-face meeting with Pope Leo XIV ahead of the ceremony. It sent an open letter to the pope and the world’s cardinals on the eve of a June 26-27 extraordinary consistory of the College of Cardinals in Rome. The letter was accompanied by a 154-point “Profession of Catholic Faith.”
Pope Leo XIV issued a letter to SSPX superior general Fr. Davide Pagliarani June 29, making a last-ditch personal appeal for the consecrations to be canceled.
The pope wrote: “I pray for you, because to tear the seamless garment of Christ is a sin of extreme gravity.”
Pagliarani replied June 30, making clear that the episcopal ordinations would go ahead.
In a statement after the consecrations, the SSPX said: “The Society sincerely regrets that, owing to exceptional circumstances, these consecrations had to be conferred without the authorization of the Holy Father.”
“It regrets in particular that the superior general of the Society was not afforded the opportunity to meet personally with His Holiness Pope Leo XIV, in order to set before him filially the grave reasons which rendered this ceremony necessary.”
I ask the Holy Spirit to reign in the hearts of all who discuss this publicly, for the good of all separated brethren, Catholic, Protestant, and Orthodox. God makes beautiful things out of dust. Let it be so here.
Are we to make anything of the fact that the note gives the two already-existing bishops the title of bishop, but does not do so for the newly-consecrated quartet? Is the Dicastery leaving open the question of whether these four are actually bishops?