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Pope Leo XIV issued an unusual last-minute plea on Tuesday to a dissident Catholic group to abandon plans to consecrate four bishops without Vatican approval, warning that the move was a “grave sin” and could deepen a decades-old rift with the Church.
In a letter written to Pastor Davide Pagliarani, leader of the Society of St. Pius X, Leo urged the group to reconsider before Wednesday’s planned event in Econe, Switzerland, saying he would exclude the bishops involved from the communion of the Church.
“I beg you and I beg you with all my heart: please go back!” the pope wrote.
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Pope Leo XIV raises his hand in the Angelus prayer at noon in his studio window facing St. Peter’s Square, Vatican, Monday, June 29, 2026. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)
Under church law, consecrating bishops without papal consent is considered an act of schism and carries automatic excommunication for both the consecrating bishop and the bishop who performs the ceremony.
“I urge you to think carefully about the spiritual good of the faithful, because the act of conflict you will do will deprive them of the law, and in some cases, even receiving the sacraments,” wrote Leo.
Pope Leo XIV delivered his message as he celebrated Mass where he gave the pallium to the newly appointed bishops of the major cities, St. Peter’s Basilica, Vatican, Monday, June 29, 2026. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)
The controversy marks the first major challenge to Leo’s papacy. Since becoming pope, the American-born pontiff has emphasized divisions within the Church, including tensions between traditionalist Catholics who favor the old Latin Mass.
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The Society of St. Pius X was instituted after the Second Vatican Council, rejecting many church reforms, including allowing Mass to be celebrated in local languages instead of Latin. For a long time, this group has argued that it preserves the true teaching of Catholics.
The community has defended its decision to consecrate four new bishops, saying there is a “necessary” situation that requires it to provide for its faithful bishops.
The planned ceremony echoes a similar controversy in 1988, when the group’s founder, Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre, ordained four bishops without papal approval. The Vatican responded by excommunicating Lefebvre and the newly ordained bishops, though that excommunication was lifted in 2009 as part of an effort to restore relations.
Pope Leo XIV walks after the Mass where he gave the pallium to the newly appointed metropolitan archbishops, at St. Peter’s Basilica, Vatican, Monday, June 29, 2026. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)
Despite years of negotiations with the Vatican, the SSPX remains outside the official structure of the church.
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The community has continued to expand in recent decades, reporting hundreds of priests, seminarians and religious members in many countries, making it one of the largest cultural organizations operating outside the official authority of the Catholic Church.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
