Vatican City - Just over twenty-four hours after the episcopal consecrations at Écône, the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith today, 2 July 2026, published an Explanatory Note and a Decree formally declaring the schismatic status of the Priestly Fraternity of Saint Pius X and the latae sententiae excommunication of those responsible for yesterday’s act on the grounds of the seminary in Valais.
The two documents, signed by the Prefect, Cardinal Víctor Manuel Fernández, Mgr Armando Matteo, Secretary of the Doctrinal Section, and Archbishop John J. Kennedy, Secretary of the Disciplinary Section, bring to a close a process which the Dicastery says has been marked by unsuccessful efforts at reconciliation, “from the time of Saint Paul VI” through to the most recent talks. This refers to the meetings held in recent months between the Fraternity’s Superior General, Fr Davide Pagliarani, and Cardinal Fernández himself, culminating in the personal appeal addressed by Pope Leo XIV to Pagliarani on 29 June, which produced no result.
In its Explanatory Note, the Dicastery recalls the teaching already set out by Saint John Paul II in his 1988 apostolic letter Ecclesia Dei: disobedience involving a practical rejection of the Roman Primacy constitutes a schismatic act.
On that basis, the Dicastery sets out three points. The Fraternity’s sacred ministers are to be regarded as schismatics and are subject to the excommunication laid down by canon 1364 §1. Lay faithful who formally adhere to the Fraternity, in accordance with the criteria established by the Pontifical Council for Legislative Texts in 1996, are likewise excommunicated. Finally, the sacrament of penance administered by the Fraternity’s priests, along with marriages at which they officiate, is declared invalid.
The attached Decree addresses individual responsibility. It states that Bishop Alfonso de Galarreta, the principal consecrator, has incurred ipso facto the penalties provided for by canons 1387 and 1364 §1 of the 2021 Code, while the four newly consecrated bishops - Pascal Schreiber, Michael Goldade, Michel Poinsinet de Sivry and Marc Hanappier - have likewise incurred the latae sententiae excommunication reserved to the Apostolic See. The same penalty applies to Bishop Bernard Fellay, who acted as co-consecrator.
The text concludes with a twofold appeal. On the one hand, it invites those wishing to return to full communion, “as a caring mother”, and states that Apostolic Nuncios will determine, case by case, the procedures to be followed. On the other, it urges all the faithful to remain steadfast in communion with the Roman Pontiff and to refrain from taking part in the Fraternity’s celebrations.
The measure follows months in which the Fraternity had justified its decision to proceed by invoking an alleged “state of necessity” for souls, while the Dicastery had made clear as early as 13 May that consecrations without a pontifical mandate would constitute a schismatic act. Yesterday, once the ceremony had concluded, Fr Pagliarani described the day as “historic”, stating that any penalties or censures “have no value whatsoever” for the Fraternity.