Archbishop Guido Pozzo, the secretary for the Ecclesia Dei commission that has been conducting talks with the traditionalist group, met with Pope Francis on Monday, February 27.
Last month Archbishop Pozzo confirmed that the talks were aimed toward the creation of a personal prelature for the SSPX.
Bishop Bernard Fellay, the superior of the SSPX, has also said that an agreement is close. Bishop Fellay said that the SSPX is anxious to reach an accord that would establish its canonical status. He said that the group would not wait for a perfect situation, but would agree to an acceptable deal.
A personal prelature is a new canonical structure, envisioned by Vatican II, that is established for a special pastoral purpose.
The prelature is a non-territorial structure under the leadership of a prelate—who may or may not be a bishop—named by the Pope. The prelature has its own clergy, but lay members of the prelature remain under the jurisdiction of their local diocesan bishops. To date the only personal prelature in the Catholic Church is Opus Dei.
According to a report in the Italian daily Il Foglio, the SSPX has reached a tentative agreement to purchase the property of Santa Maria Immacolata all’Esquilino, a large complex in the center of Rome, roughly midway the Victor Emmanuel monument and the basilica of St. John Lateran.
The complex could be used as a center for studies and a headquarters for the newly established prelature.
Il Foglio reports that Pope Francis played an important role in paving the way for the agreement to purchase the new property.