SSPX.org: A Timeline of the Society of Saint Pius X’s July 1, 2026, Episcopal Consecrations

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JMJ

On July 14 the SSPX published a timeline describing communications with Rome leading up to the Episcopal consecrations.

This timeline includes contacts that were new to me.  One thing that is of interest are recent claims made by ++Pozzo that the SSPX broke off relations in 2018 (link) which is the reason for the timeline.

P^3

Courtesy of SSPX.org

Despite widespread reporting in Catholic and secular sources concerning the July 1, 2026, episcopal consecrations, many news outlets, bloggers, and “social media personalities” continue to distort the timeline leading up to this momentous event. The claim that the Society of Saint Pius X never attempted to engage Rome prior to the consecrations is patently false. Further, little attention has been paid to the reality that Rome continues to demand full-throated acceptance of the Second Vatican Council as the conditio sine qua non for not just canonical regularization, but membership in the Catholic Church.

1. November 22, 2018
1. Well before the February 2, 2026, announcement that the Society of Saint Pius X (SSPX) intended to consecrate new bishops to assist in its apostolic work, SSPX Superior General Fr. Davide Pagliarani met with Cardinal Luis Ladaria Ferrer, former Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. At that time, it was reaffirmed that the fundamental difference between the Society and Rome is doctrinal. This acknowledgment was in continuity with previous discussions between the SSPX and Rome, which came to an impasse in 2012.
2. January 17, 2019
1. Fr. Pagliarani penned a letter to Bishop Guido Pozzo, Secretary of the former Ecclesia Dei Commission. In it, he outlined the doctrinal topics to be discussed between the SSPX and Rome. He also proposed that both sides exchange written statements with an eye toward two annual meetings. The topics to be discussed included, inter alia, ecumenism, interreligious dialogue, synodality, the Petrine ministry, and the primacy and role of conscience in the conciliar and post-conciliar magisterium. Contrary to Archbishop Pozzo’s July 7, 2026, statement that the Society had broken off talks in November 2018, this letter is proof that the Superior General remained open to discussion with an eye toward resolving the disagreements between the SSPX and Rome.
3. August 2025
1. Prior to the SSPX’s August 21, 2025, Jubilee Pilgrimage to Rome, Fr. Pagliarani wrote to the recently enthroned Pope Leo XIV to both congratulate him on his election and to request an audience. The letter was never answered and the audience was never granted.
4. November 2025
1. Fr. Pagliarani again wrote to the Pope, this time spelling out in writing what he had hoped to convey orally had he been granted an audience in August 2025. Specifically, Fr. Pagliarani wished to explain why the SSPX needed new bishops while acknowledging that doctrinal differences remained between both sides. Moreover, the Superior General expressed the SSPX’s desire to serve the Church and preserve Catholic Tradition for the good of the Church. Toward the end of January 2026, Cardinal Fernandez replied with a threat of sanctions should the Society consecrate new bishops.
5. February 2, 2026
1. On the Feast of the Presentation (Candlemas), Fr. Pagliarani announced that the SSPX would consecrate new bishops in Ecône, Switzerland on July 1, 2026. This decision was made only after the Superior General had appealed to Rome. In keeping faith with the Society’s founder, Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre, the Superior General affirmed that this decision was made with the intention of serving the Church by preserving Catholic Tradition through bishops who would be able to offer both the sacraments of confirmation and ordination.
6. February 12, 2026
1. The Superior General met with Cardinal Víctor Manuel Fernández, Prefect of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith. During this cordial but frank encounter, Fr. Pagliarani explained the Society’s need for new bishops. He also stressed the spirit of charity in which the consecrations would be carried forth and expressed his belief that this decision was being made for the good of souls. In response, Cardinal Fernandez issued a communique outlining the need for further dialogue and to establish “the minima necessary for full communion with the Catholic Church,” which would make it possible “to define a canonical status for the Society.” In order to carry forth this dialogue, however, Cardinal Fernandez requested that the SSPX suspend the July 1, 2026, consecrations.
7. February 18, 2026
1. In response to Cardinal Fernandez, Fr. Pagliarani recalled his desire for dialogue as expressed in January 2019. However, proceeding toward dialogue could in no way delay the planned July 1, 2026, episcopal consecrations. He expanded upon the January 2019 list of topics to be discussed with greater emphasis on where the SSPX and Rome disagree. The Superior General further acknowledged that prior discussions with the Holy See had fallen apart drastically, particularly after Cardinal Gerhard Müller, former Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, had established that the minimum requirements for full communion with the Catholic Church explicitly included accepting the entire Second Vatican Council and the teachings of the post-conciliar period.
8. May 7, 2026 
1. The Society’s General House invited the faithful to partake in a common supplication for the episcopal consecrations. Set to begin on May 8 (Feast of Our Lady Mediatrix of All Graces) and conclude on July 1 (Feast of the Precious Blood), this prayer asked Our Lord to shine His grace down upon the men to be consecrated so that they may be wise and faithful stewards of Catholic Tradition.
9. May 14, 2026
1. In order to demonstrate the SSPX’s devotion to the Catholic Faith, Fr. Pagliarani issued a Declaration of Catholic Faith addressed to Pope Leo XIV. The purpose of this declaration, according to Fr. Pagliarani, was to manifest the SSPX’s devotion to the Faith and also express what seems to it to be the minimum requirements that are indispensable to be in communion with the Church. As the Superior General stated at the end of the cover letter to the declaration, “We [the SSPX] have no other desire than that of living and being confirmed in the Roman Catholic Faith.”
10. May 26, 2026
1. The SSPX’s General House released the names of the four priests who would be consecrated on July 1, 2026: Fr. Pascal Schreiber (Switzerland); Fr. Michael Goldade (United States); Fr. Michel Poinsinet de Sivry (France); and Fr. Marc Hanappier (France). With this announcement, the Superior General conveyed that the choice and consecration of these men did not proceed from any desire to claim a power of jurisdiction or to establish a parallel authority within the Church.
11. June 24, 2026
1. As the episcopal consecrations drew near, Fr. Pagliarani, along with his assistants, Bishop Alfonso de Galarreta and Fr. Christian Bouchacourt, and counselors, Bishop Bernard Fellay and Fr. Franz Schmidberger, wrote an open letter to Pope Leo XIV professing the Catholic Faith. Attached to this letter was an extensive document, Profession of the Catholic Faith of the Society of Saint Pius X to Enlighten Souls in the Face of Modern Errors. This document was rigorously researched and copiously footnoted to ensure it conformed in toto with the immemorial Tradition of the Catholic Church.
12. June 29, 2026
1. In a terse letter written on the eve of the episcopal consecrations, Pope Leo XIV requested that the Society not follow through with the consecrations. As his predecessor John Paul II had done in 1988, the Pope referred to the pending consecrations as a “schismatic act,” albeit without justification. While Pope Leo referenced the Church’s openness to dialogue, nothing in the letter addressed directly the SSPX’s concerns nor the fact the Superior General had twice sought an audience with the Holy Father in 2025.
13. July 1, 2026
1. Before 17,000 faithful from nearly 70 countries, Bishops Alfonso de Galarreta and Bernard Fellay consecrated Frs. Michael Goldade, Michel Poinsinet de Sivry, Fr. Marc Hanappier, and Pascal Schreiber. On the same day, the General House issued a press release that expressed the Society’s regret “that, owing to exceptional circumstances, these consecrations had to be conferred without the authorization of the Holy Father. It regrets in particular that the Superior General of the Society was not afforded the opportunity to meet personally with His Holiness Pope Leo XIV, in order to set before him filially the grave reasons which rendered this ceremony necessary.”
14. July 2, 2026 
1. In a decree signed by Cardinal Fernandez, the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith stated that the Society’s four new bishops, along with the two who consecrated them, incurred “ipso facto” the “latae sententiae” excommunication reserved to the Apostolic See for having carried out “an act of a schismatic nature,” namely the “episcopal consecration of four presbyters, without pontifical mandate and against the will of the Supreme Pontiff.” An explanatory note attached to this decree extended excommunication to all the “sacred ministers” belonging to the SSPX (i.e., the priests). Moreover, any laity “who formally adhere to the [SSPX] are to be considered schismatics and excommunicated under the conditions established in the 1996 Explanatory Note of the Pontifical Council for Legislative Texts.” According to the pertinent provision of the Explanatory Note, assessing the laity’s “culpability” must be made on a case-by-case basis.
15. July 11, 2026
1. In response to the July 2, 2026, decree signed by Cardinal Fernandez, the SSPX filed a preliminary appeal in accordance with § 1734 of the Code of Canon Law (CCL). This step, which is the required prerequisite before the possible introduction of a hierarchical appeal, has the effect of suspending the execution of the decree, in accordance with § 1353 of the CCL. As such, the unjust reprisals taken against the SSPX are currently not in effect.