VATICAN CITY (AP) — With the threat of schism and excommunication hanging over them, a breakaway group of traditionalist Catholics is set to directly defy Pope Leo XIV by consecrating four bishops without his consent.The Society of St. Pius X has planned a massive ceremony Wednesday at its seminary in Econe, Switzerland, in a mountain valley in the country’s southwest corner. It’s expected to draw thousands of people who prefer the ancient Latin Mass over the modern liturgies celebrated in most of the Catholic Church.The society, known by its acronym SSPX, is going ahead with the consecrations despite a last-ditch appeal by Leo to call it off. In a letter published Tuesday, the American pope warned that consecrating bishops without his approval amounts to a “sin of extreme gravity” that will actually harm their faithful.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.
And yet everything about Wednesday’s ceremony has the air of a joyous celebration. The SSPX website for its consecration has had a countdown clock running for days. Video clips show seminarians joyfully unloading boxes. Participants will receive a baseball cap with the “Econe2026” seal on it.
