UPDATE July 2: Vatican excommunicates SSPX bishops, priests and some lay faithful
Acting in defiance of Pope Leo, the Priestly Fraternity of Saint Pius X ordained four new bishops without the papal mandate on the morning of July 1. With the act of episcopal ordination, the two consecrating bishops and the four newly ordained bishops incurred the penalty of automatic excommunication. Some 17,000 people from 70 countries attended the open-air ceremony on the grounds of the SSPX seminary at Écône, Switzerland. The Mass was disturbed about an hour from the end by an unexpected thunderstorm and heavy downpour.
The Spanish-born bishop Alfonso de Galarreta presided over the solemn liturgical ceremony, celebrated in Latin according to the Tridentine Rite, and was assisted by his co-consecrator the Swiss bishop Bernard Fellay. Wearing red Roman-style vestments, at around 11 a.m. the two placed their hands on the heads of each of the four priests to be ordained—Pascal Schreiber (Switzerland), Michael Goldade (United States), Michel Poinsinet de Sivry (France) and Marc Hanappier (France)—ordaining them bishops of the Catholic Church.
Although the ordination was an act carried out in defiance of the pope, Abbot Shreiber nevertheless read the oath on behalf of the four bishops elect that contained the words “obedient to the Apostle Peter, the Holy Roman Church and Pope Leo XIV.”
Bishops de Galarreta and Fellay now incur the penalty of excommunication for the second time, as they were first automatically excommunicated on June 30, 1988, when they received the episcopal ordination from the French-born missionary archbishop and SSPX founder Marcel Lefebvre. Their excommunication then (along with two other bishops ordained with them) was lifted by Pope Benedict XVI on Jan. 21, 2009, in a failed effort at rapprochement with the SSPX.
The SSPX reports that it has around 600,000 members around the world, including 700 priests as well as many seminarians and women religious. The society does not accept some of the teachings of the Second Vatican Council as they are currently understood, including its decrees on ecumenism, interreligious dialogue, religious liberty and liturgy.
Two days ago, on June 29, the feast of Sts. Peter and Paul, Pope Leo made a final appeal in a letter to the SSPX, pleading with them to “please turn back” and not go ahead with the illicit ordinations. “I feel it is my duty, through the authority received from Christ, to ask you to desist from your intended act,” he told the group. Leo went on to say that “to tear the seamless garment of Christ is a sin of extreme gravity” and prayed that the Lord “[may] enlighten your consciences and awaken your hearts.”
The Vatican is expected to issue a statement declaring all six bishops excommunicated “Latae sententiae,” but it had not yet done so at the time of writing; sources now say that statement may not come today. “Latae sententiae” is Latin for “the sentence having already been passed,” meaning the action taken by the one being excommunicated does not require a competent authority (a bishop or the pope) to hand down the decree of excommunication.
Today’s ceremony began at 9 a.m. under a bright sun in a beautiful mountainous setting and lasted over five hours. The ordinations were livestreamed in six different languages, including English, with commentary explaining the rite. The two consecrating bishops, four bishops-elect, priests, deacons, seminarians and nuns were all gathered under a white tent-like construction, whereas the vast congregation was gathered in the open air.
Early on in the ceremony, Father Davide Pagliariani, the superior general of the SSPX, delivered a talk in French that lasted more than half an hour. The ordination ceremony followed the pre-Vatican II Tridentine Rite and was conducted in Latin.
A choir of young men sang in Gregorian Chant at various points in the ceremony. Near the end of the Mass, the choir led the singing of the ancient hymn “Christus Vincit” and led the recitation of the decades of the Rosary in Latin, including one decade “for the Holy Roman Church and Pope Leo XIV.”
Toward the end of the celebration, Bishop de Galarreta gave each of the four new bishops the gold-colored miter and the pastoral staff that are symbols of their episcopal office. He then intoned the “Te Deum,” the church’s ancient hymn of thanksgiving to God that goes back to the fifth century.
Afterward, the new bishops went among the congregation to bless the people. After each of the new bishops gave the final blessing, they went up to Bishop de Galarreta and wished him “Ad Multos Annos” ([May you live] for many years).
Next all present stood and prayed together for Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre, the founder of the SSPX, who died in 1991 and is buried in the crypt of the seminary church here at Écône. After Mass, the bishops went and sang the “Salve Regina” in front of his tomb.
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