Extreme‑right groups rally around the Society of St. Pius X, sparking fresh Vatican schism concerns

The Society of St. Pius X, founded by French bishop Marcel Lefebvre in 1970, remains in conflict with the Vatican after consecrating bishops without papal approval, leading to excommunications and a declared schism. Recent Vatican statements have again labeled the Society a schismatic group.

U.S. far‑right factions linked to the Trump era and European nationalist, identitarian movements are increasingly praising the Society as a model of a militant, hierarchical Catholicism that opposes liberal democracy, multiculturalism and Islam. They view the group as an emblem of cultural and ethnic identity rather than a religious community, seeking to merge religious authority with political extremism.