A group of breakaway Catholics defied Pope Leo XIV directly on Wednesday by consecrating four bishops without his consent and declaring that defending the Catholic faith is a “sacred duty,” dismissing the resulting excommunications and schisms.The Society of Saint Pius X, which opposes reforms to modernize the Catholic Church, continues to hold consecrations at the Ekon seminary in Switzerland, despite the pope’s final call to cancel. Leo warned that consecrating bishops without his approval amounted to a “grave sin” that would harm the faithful.The ceremony took place 38 years after the Vatican declared the last ordination of SSPX bishops a “schizophrenic act.” According to canon law, the act of consecrating a bishop without papal authority results in the automatic excommunication of the four new bishops and the presiding bishop.The whole ceremony was full of joyful celebration atmosphere. Bells rang throughout the valley, hundreds of priests walked to the altar, and thousands of faithful Catholics who preferred the traditional Latin Mass attended the ceremony.A priest read a statement defending the ordination: “We consider it a sacred duty to the Holy Church to consecrate a bishop who is completely faithful to his sacred tradition. We consider every punishment and condemnation directed at this step to be ineffective.”In 1988, Bishop Alfonso de Galareta consecrated himself without papal consent, placing his hands on the heads of four new bishops. The website has a countdown that lasts several days. Participants will receive an “Econe2026”-stamped baseball cap and can purchase souvenir wine.The SSPX was founded in 1970 by French Bishop Marcel Lefebvre, who rejected the reforms of the Second Vatican Council, which included allowing Mass to be celebrated in local languages. The Society celebrated the ancient Latin Mass and justified the sacrificial activity on the grounds of “state of necessity.”“We are not afraid of it. It causes us great pain, but we believe that the good we seek outweighs the pain we suffer,” said Marc-André Mabillard, the association’s media manager.This is the first conflict between the Vatican and the SSPX since 1988, when Lefebvre and four bishops he appointed without papal permission were excommunicated. But many Catholics objected to the consecration, viewing it as disobedience to the pope.“You cannot serve tradition while violating the church and its authority,” said Robert Gall, chaplain at The Catholic University of America.
