Defying Pope Leo XIV, traditionalists go ahead with bishop consecrations in Switzerland

By — Jamey Keaten, Associated Press Jamey Keaten, Associated Press By — Nicole Winfield, Associated Press Nicole Winfield, Associated Press Leave your feedback Share Copy URL https://www.pbs.org/newshour/nation/defying-pope-leo-xiv-traditionalists-go-ahead-with-bishop-consecrations-in-switzerland Email Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Pinterest Tumblr Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Defying Pope Leo XIV, traditionalists go ahead with bishop consecrations in Switzerland Nation Jul 1, 2026 1:03 PM EDT ECONE, Switzerland (AP) — A group of traditionalist Catholics directly defied Pope Leo XIV on Wednesday by consecrating four bishops without his consent, dismissing the resulting excommunications and break with the Holy See by saying it was necessary to defend the Catholic faith. The Society of St. Pius X, which opposes modernizing reforms in the Catholic Church, went ahead with the five-hour ceremony 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. READ MORE: Pope Leo XIV says wars are 'fed' faster than people as aid money dries up The consecrations amounted to a crisis for Leo, who has prioritized church unity and healing tensions with traditionalists that worsened during the Pope Francis pontificate. Educate your inbox Subscribe to Here’s the Deal, our politics newsletter for analysis you won’t find anywhere else. The SSPX, as the society is known, is a threat to the Holy See because it represents a parallel, ultra-Catholic faith. 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. Bells tolled through the misty Alpine mountain valley as hundreds of priests walked two-by-two to the altar under a tent to start the service and then again at the end. An estimated 16,500 faithful who prefer the traditional Latin Mass over modern liturgies attended, sitting in a field through a downpour alongside their children who were too numerous for organizers to count. The Mass, rich in velvet and gold-trimmed vestments, chanting and incense, was livestreamed on the society's YouTube channel, with simultaneous explanations in several languages. The highly organized 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. READ MORE: Pope tells traffickers of migrants in the Canary Islands: Stop, repent or face God's wrath 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. "We consider every punishment and censure brought to bear against this step will have no validity," h