On July 1, 2026, the Society of St Pius X (SSPX) consecrated four priests without Vatican approval at Écône, Switzerland, in a large outdoor ceremony that drew an estimated 16,000 people together in attendance.
The Vatican had previously warned that if the SSPX were to proceed in consecrating bishops without Rome’s approval, those involved would incur automatic excommunications. The day before the consecrations, Pope Leo XIV appealed to the Society to refrain from proceeding.
On July 2, the day after the consecrations, the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith (DDF) declared the four newly consecrated bishops as well as the two consecrating bishops to have incurred automatic excommunication.
