SSPX consecrates four bishops in Ecône, formalizing split with the Vatican

On 1 July 2026 the Society of Saint Pius X (SSPX) held a ceremony in the meadow of Écône, Switzerland, ordaining four new bishops – Pascal Schreiber (Swiss), Michael Goldade (American), Michel Poinsinet de Sivry and Marc Hanappier (both French). The consecrations were performed without a papal mandate, which under canon law triggers automatic excommunication (latae sententiae) for the consecrators and the newly ordained. The act, described by Vatican officials as an “atto scismatico”, deepens the schism that began in 1988 when Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre first consecrated bishops without Rome’s approval.

The Holy See had repeatedly appealed for a reversal, with Pope Francis sending a personal letter urging the SSPX to desist. Cardinal Víctor Manuel Fernández of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith warned that the plan constituted an open act of schism. In response, the Dicastery issued procedural guidance for priests and lay members who wish to return to full communion, requiring a letter to the Pope, acceptance by a local ordinary, and a probationary period.

The event affects the SSPX’s global community of roughly 700 priests and about half‑a‑million faithful, marking a decisive break with the Roman Catholic hierarchy and setting the stage for ongoing canonical and pastoral negotiations.