Society of St. Pius X Announces New EPISCOPAL CONSECRATIONS for July 1, 2026

Not authorized by their ‘Pope’, of course…

Society of St. Pius X Announces
NEW EPISCOPAL CONSECRATIONS
for July 1, 2026

Breaking news out of tiny Menzingen, Switzerland, on this beautiful feast of Our Lady’s Purification: The Superior General of the Fraternal Society of St. Pius X (FSSPX/SSPX) has announced that new bishops will be consecrated (ordained) for the Society on July 1, 2026:

• La Maison Générale de la FSSPX annonce de futurs sacres (fsspx.news)
• La Maison Générale de la FSSPX annonce de futurs sacres (La Porte Latine)

A number of the main official web sites the SSPX maintains were inaccessible this morning, probably due to being overwhelmed by the traffic.

Nonetheless, the well-connected Rorate Caeli blog made available the English version of the communiqué in full, and the Pelican Brief Twitter account posted a screenshot of the official announcement:

Communiqué

On this February 2, 2026, the feast of the Purification of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Father Davide Pagliarani, Superior General of the Priestly Fraternity of St. Pius X, during the ceremony of imposition of the cassocks which he presided over at the International Seminary of St. Curé d’Ars in Flavigny-sur-Ozerain, France, publicly announced his decision to entrust the bishops of the Fraternity with the task of proceeding with new episcopal consecrations on July 1.

Last August, he requested an audience with the Holy Father, informing him of his desire to filialy explain the current situation of the Priestly Fraternity of St. Pius X. In a second letter, he explicitly addressed the Fraternity’s particular need to ensure the continuation of the ministry of its bishops, who have been traveling the world for nearly forty years to respond to the many faithful attached to the Tradition of the Church and desirous that the sacraments of Holy Orders and Confirmation be conferred for the good of their souls.

After much prayerful reflection, and having received a letter from the Holy See in recent days that in no way responds to our requests, Father Pagliarani, supported by the unanimous opinion of his Council, believes that the objective state of grave necessity in which souls find themselves requires such a decision.

The words he wrote on November 21, 2024, for the fiftieth anniversary of Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre’s historic declaration, reflect his thoughts and intentions more than ever:

“It is only in the Church of all time and in her constant Tradition that we find the guarantee of being in the Truth, of continuing to preach and serve it. […]

“The Society [of St. Pius X] does not seek first and foremost its own survival: it seeks primarily the good of the universal Church and, for this reason, it is par excellence a work of the Church, which with unique freedom and strength, responds adequately to the specific needs of an unprecedented tragic era.

“This single goal is still ours today, just as it was fifty years ago: ‘That is why, without any rebellion, bitterness, or resentment, we continue our work of priestly formation under the star of the Magisterium of all time, convinced that we cannot render a greater service to the Holy Catholic Church, to the Supreme Pontiff, and to future generations (Archbishop Lefebvre, Declaration of November 21, 1974).’”

In the coming days, the Superior General will provide further explanations on the present situation and on his decision.

“Nos cum Prole pia benedicat Virgo Maria.

May the Virgin Mary bless us, together with her divine Son.”

Menzingen, February 2, 2026

(Source)

What happens next?

Before long Fr. Pagliarani will release the names of the priests to be ordained bishops. How many will it be this time? In 1988, Abp. Marcel Lefebvre (founder of the SSPX) and Bp. Antonio de Castro Mayer (retired bishop of the diocese of Campos, Brazil) consecrated a total of four bishops for a Society that was still quite young and not nearly as big as it is today.

Therefore, we can expect that at a minimum there will be four new bishops, although it is more likely there will be six or eight, perhaps even more, considering their need for bishops to administer confirmations, ordain priests, and consecrate holy oils and churches around the world (among other responsibilities).

As happened in 1988, before the consecrations take place the Vatican will remind and officially notify the SSPX that according to the 1983 Code of Canon Law (which the SSPX accepts as valid, at least more or less), episcopal consecrations that are carried out without a papal mandate incur by that very fact excommunication latae sententiae (see Canons 1013, Canon 1387). The day after the unauthorized consecrations, the Vatican will declare (confirm) that the excommunications were indeed incurred, and the SSPX will once again argue that they are null and void.

From the perspective of the SSPX leadership, they ‘might as well’ consecrate more rather than fewer bishops, since the official punishment (excommunication) is the same, whether it be for consecrating one bishop or 100 bishops without the required authorization. According to Novus Ordo canon law, excommunication is incurred by the consecrating bishop(s) as well as by the bishops consecrated, but by nobody else. The issue of schism, however, is another matter, and Leo XIV may very well declare the entire SSPX to be schismatic, which would result in automatic excommunication for everyone who is a member of the Society (see Canon 1364 §1).

All of the SSPX’s efforts of rapprochement with Rome will thus have been for nought, and relations between the two entities will be pretty much at a standstill (at which they seem to be already anyway). In fact, Leo XIV very well might revoke the faculties for hearing confessions and witnessing marriages which ‘Pope’ Francis had ‘mercifully’ extended to the Lefebvrists in 2015/16, and which the authorities of the SSPX don’t believe they need anyway.

The SSPX will probably lose a number of adherents and supporters, as they did in 1988, and they will transfer over to the ‘indult’ organizations, such as the Institute of Christ the King and the Fraternity of St. Peter, who will harp on their ‘full communion’ with the apostate Leo.

Controversy among semi-trads regarding the SSPX’s impending episcopal consecrations will put tremendous strain on the recognize-and-resist trad ‘community’, which will be divided regarding how much resistance is necessary or justified, and whether or not to consider the excommunications to be valid.

Needless to say, there will be a boom in podcasts and articles by the self-appointed semi-trad leaders and influencers, such as Peter Kwasniewski, Taylor Marshall, Michael Matt, and Brian McCall, among others, who will all have a lot to say about it.

So will Novus Ordo Watch. Stay tuned for more commentary.

It’s 1988 all over again.

Image source: Wikimedia Commons (modified)
License: public domain