SSPX to consecrate four bishops on July 1 despite Vatican excommunication warning

The Society of St. Pius X (SSPX) announced that four of its priests – Michael Goldade (United States), Pascal Schreiber (Switzerland), Michel Poinsinet de Sivry and Marc Hanappier (both France) – will be ordained as bishops on 1 July 2026 without a papal mandate. The Vatican, through Cardinal Victor Manuel Fernández, warned that the consecrations constitute a “schismatic act” and will trigger automatic excommunication for those involved. SSPX maintains that the ordinations are necessary to preserve the traditional sacraments and to continue its ministry, rejecting several reforms of the Second Vatican Council. The group has appealed to the new Pope Leo XIV for support, while a petition signed by bishops and lay faithful urges the pope to grant a papal mandate to avoid a “hardening of divisions” in the Church. The episode mirrors the 1988 consecrations by Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre that led to a schism and excommunication, later partially lifted. The planned July 1 ceremony therefore revives a long‑standing clash between the ultra‑conservative fraternity and the Holy See.