Breakaway Catholic group defies Pope to consecrate new bishops

A breakaway group of traditionalist Catholics directly defied Pope Leo XIV by consecrating four bishops without his consent Wednesday, dismissing the resulting excommunications by declaring it was a “sacred duty” to defend the Catholic faith.

The Society of St. Pius X, which opposes the modernising reforms of the Catholic Church, went ahead with the consecrations at its seminary in Econe, Switzerland despite a last-ditch appeal by Leo to call it off.

The American pope warned in a letter Tuesday that consecrating bishops without his approval amounted to a “sin of extreme gravity” that will actually harm their faithful.

And yet bells tolled through the misty Alpine mountain valley as hundreds of priests processed two-by-two to the altar under a tent at the start of the service, which was attended by thousands of faithful Catholics who prefer the traditional Latin Mass over modern liturgies.

The Mass, rich in velvet and gold-trimmed vestments, chant and incense, was livestreamed on the society's YouTube channel, with simultaneous translation in several languages.

The highly organised religious extravaganza underscored the society's international reach, despite its schismatic outsider status, and appeal to conservative, traditionalist Catholics wary of the modern, secular world.

The consecrations amount to a major crisis for Leo, who has prioritised church unity and healing tensions with traditionalists that worsened during the Pope Francis pontificate.

The SSPX, as the society is known, is a threat to the Holy See since it represents a parallel, ultra-Catholic, pre-Vatican II church.

It now has six bishops, 751 priests, 264 seminarians training in five seminaries, 145 religious brothers, 88 oblates and 250 religious sisters representing 50 nationalities, according to SSPX statistics.

At the start of the Mass, a priest read aloud a statement justifying the consecrations as a necessary “sacred duty” and dismissing the resulting penalties.

Midway through, Bishop Alfonso de Galarreta, who himself was consecrated without papal consent in 1988, placed his hands on the head of the four new bishops.

The ritual laying of the hands confers the Holy Spirit from one bishop to another and recalls Christ’s gesture to his apostles.

Excommunication

According to church law, the mere act of consecrating a bishop without a papal mandate incurs the harshest penalty in the Catholic Church: automatic excommunication for the four new bishops and the bishop administering the rite.

It also amounts to a schismatic act, or an intentional rupture of the unity of the Catholic Church.

Arlina Onglao, a 71-year-old travel agent who trekked from her home in Manila, the Philippines, said she wanted to come to Econe for the “historic event” and didn't care about the prospect of excommunications.

"I am very new but I really like the way they do things," she said.

"I feel like I am on a safer road to heaven."

Medical researcher Wulfran Lindzondzo, 42, a native of Gabon who today lives in France, said he wanted to “re-discover tradition” through the society, noting its presence in the African country.

“The Holy Father doesn’t really agree with it, but I hand over – I will pray to the Good Lord that the authorities in Rome can one day accept coming back to the church’s traditions,” he said before the Mass began.