Since the a divinis suspension of Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre in 1976, successive pontiffs have managed crises with the Priestly Fraternity of Saint Pius X (FSSPX) by resorting, at decisive moments, to personal audiences with its leaders.
In the face of the announcement of possible new episcopal consecrations and the Vatican warning of a potential schism, the pontificate of Leo XIV has handled the matter, to date, through the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, without any record of a direct papal audience with the Fraternity’s superiors.
What follows is the chronology of those contacts.
1976: Paul VI receives Lefebvre at Castel Gandolfo
The tensions were formalized with Lefebvre’s a divinis suspension in 1976, after he repeatedly disobeyed the Holy See’s decisions regarding the seminary in Écône and celebrated a large public Mass in Lille despite the sanctions.
On 11 September 1976, Paul VI personally received the French archbishop at Castel Gandolfo.
According to accounts of the meeting, the conversation was tense: the Pope reproached him for acting as if he were an “antipope” and for judging the successor of Peter as unfaithful to the faith, while Lefebvre insisted on denouncing what he considered a doctrinal and liturgical crisis following the Second Vatican Council.
No agreement was reached, but exchanges between the two sides continued.
1988: John Paul II, the 5 May protocol and Ecclesia Dei
After months of negotiations led by then-Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, Rome and Lefebvre signed a protocol on 5 May 1988 that provided for the regularization of the Fraternity and the possibility of a bishop from its ranks.
Lefebvre retracted the following day and, weeks later, consecrated four bishops without a pontifical mandate.
John Paul II described the consecrations as an act gravely contrary to ecclesial communion and promulgated the motu proprio Ecclesia Dei.
At the same time, he established a specific commission for the reconciliation of those attached to the traditional liturgy and kept open the path to a future regularization.
During the Jubilee of the year 2000, he personally received Bishop Bernard Fellay.
2005–2013: Benedict XVI, Summorum Pontificum and the lifting of the excommunications
Benedict XVI received Bishop Fellay at Castel Gandolfo a few months after his election. His pontificate included several decisions relevant to the case:
In 2007 he promulgated Summorum Pontificum, which recognized that the 1962 Roman Missal had not been juridically abolished and expanded the celebration of the traditional liturgy.
In 2009 he lifted the excommunications of the four bishops consecrated in 1988.
He promoted official doctrinal discussions between the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith and the Fraternity on issues such as religious freedom, ecumenism, episcopal collegiality and the interpretation of the Second Vatican Council.
2013–2025: Francis maintains contacts and expands faculties
In April 2016, Francis received Bishop Fellay at the Casa Santa Marta for about forty minutes, in a meeting described as cordial and with a commitment to continue the exchanges.
On a practical level, he granted the priests of the Fraternity the ordinary faculty to validly absolve in confession and facilitated the canonical recognition of marriages celebrated by FSSPX priests.
The underlying doctrinal problem remained unresolved.
December 2025: the Fraternity raises the possibility of new consecrations
In December 2025, the Superior General of the FSSPX, Father Davide Pagliarani, described the question of future bishops as “the million-dollar question.”
Without mentioning dates or names, he indicated that the possibility was being considered and maintained that the “state of necessity” invoked by Lefebvre in 1988 would remain in force and would, in his view, be more evident than at that time, thus resuming the reasoning that preceded those consecrations.
12 February 2026: meeting at the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith
On 12 February 2026, Cardinal Víctor Manuel Fernández received Father Pagliarani at the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, with the express approval of Leo XIV.
The meeting was officially described as “cordial and sincere.”
According to the communiqué, Rome proposed a path of formal theological dialogue on the pending doctrinal questions - including the interpretation of various texts of the Second Vatican Council and the degrees of adherence required by the magisterium - and suggested that this process could lead to the definition of a canonical statute for the Fraternity.
The proposal included a prior condition: the suspension of the announced episcopal consecrations.
Unlike his predecessors, the handling of the matter was entrusted to the Dicastery, without a personal audience of the Pontiff with the leaders of the Fraternity.
13 May 2026: the Vatican warns of a “schismatic act”
On 13 May, Cardinal Fernández issued a statement on behalf of the Dicastery reiterating that episcopal consecrations without a pontifical mandate would constitute “a schismatic act.”
The note cited the motu proprio Ecclesia Dei and recalled the canonical consequences foreseen for those who formally participate in a schism.
The communiqué added that Leo XIV continued to ask the leaders of the Fraternity to reconsider their decision.
June 2026: a possible new appeal
Questioned by journalists about the ordinations scheduled for 1 July, Leo XIV indicated that he was considering issuing a new appeal to the Fraternity:
“I am considering making another appeal and saying ‘do not do this, let us try to live the communion of the Church.’ But it is their choice.'
The Pontiff reiterated that the Fraternity continues to reject elements he considers fundamental to the life of the Church, in particular various aspects of the Second Vatican Council, a diagnosis substantially shared by his predecessors.
Current situation
Over half a century, Paul VI, John Paul II, Benedict XVI and Francis maintained personal audiences with the leaders of the Fraternity, even in moments of greatest tension.
In the current crisis, dialogue has been channeled through the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, without any record to date of a direct meeting between Leo XIV and its superiors.
The episcopal consecrations are scheduled for 1 July.
If they take place and the Holy See responds with a formal declaration of schism, the outcome would have been reached through a procedure different from that of previous crises: with dialogue delegated to the Curia and without the direct personal intervention of the Pope that characterized preceding pontificates.