The Vatican, on Thursday, excommunicated six bishops associated with the ultra-conservative Society of Saint Pius X (SSPX).

The decision followed the unauthorised consecration of four new bishops, including Pascal Schreiber, Michael Goldade, Michel Poinsinet de Sivry and Marc Hanappier, in Écône, Switzerland, on Wednesday.

The consecrations were carried out without the approval of Pope Leo XIV, an action that contravenes the rules, as only the pope can authorise the consecration of new bishops. 

Noting that the consecrations constituted a “schismatic act,” representing a formal break in ecclesial communion, the Church said the bishops had incurred “latae sententiae” (automatic) excommunication. 

“The sacred ministers of the Society of St Pius X administer the sacraments illicitly, while the sacrament of penance they administer and the marriages they witness are invalid,” the Vatican said.

The Vatican also warned members of the SSPX that those who knowingly and formally align themselves with the society placed themselves outside full communion with the Church. 

“I plead with you and ask you with all my heart: please turn back!” he stated.

Excommunication remains one of the most serious penalties that can be imposed by the Catholic Church’s leadership. It bars a Catholic from receiving any church sacraments such as baptism, communion or marriage.

The SSPX was established in the 1970s by French Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre in response to the liturgical and theological reforms that followed the Second Vatican Council.

The society sought to preserve the Traditional Latin Mass and the historic teachings of the Catholic Church. 

 While it was initially established with Vatican approval, relations with Rome steadily soured as the SSPX rejected key aspects of the council, particularly its teachings on religious liberty, interdenominational unity, and episcopal collegiality.