The Écône Consecrations of July 1, 2026: The Chronos and Kairos of an Event
By Roberto de Mattei
July 1, 2026
“Habetis mandatum apostolicum?” (Do you have the apostolic mandate?). With this traditional formula, used to verify that candidates have pontifical approval, the rite of episcopal ordination began on July 1 in Écône. A priest responded by reading a brief text—devoid of canonical value—drafted by Father Davide Pagliarani, Superior General of the Society of Saint Pius X (SSPX):
“The authorities of the Church manifest an attitude contrary to the faith and act against Sacred Tradition and the constant Magisterium of the Church,” therefore “we believe it is necessary to proceed with the consecration of bishops who are fully faithful to Tradition” and that we have “the gravest duty to transmit the grace of the episcopate to these priests.”
Kneeling before the principal consecrator, Bishop Alfonso de Galarreta, the four new bishops then made their oath one by one, which according to the *Pontificale Romanum* begins with these words:
“I… from now and forever will be faithful and obedient to the Blessed Apostle Peter, to the Holy Roman Church, to the Holy Father Pope Leo XIV, and to his legitimately designated successors…”
History repeats itself, albeit under different circumstances. On June 30, 1988, in Écône, Switzerland, Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre consecrated four bishops without a pontifical mandate. Thirty-eight years later, on July 1, 2026, two of the bishops consecrated back then—Bishop Bernard Fellay and Bishop Alfonso de Galarreta—have in turn conferred the episcopate upon four priests of the Priestly Society of Saint Pius X: Pascal Schreiber (Switzerland), Michael Goldade (United States), Michel Poinsinet de Sivry (France), and Marc Hanappier (France), once again acting against the will of the Roman Pontiff.
An Appeal from the Pope and the SSPX Response
On the eve of today's consecrations, June 29, Pope Leo XIV addressed a heartfelt appeal to the Superior General of the Society, Father Davide Pagliarani, asking him to desist from the consecrations.
“Carefully consider the spiritual good of the faithful,” the Pontiff wrote, “because the schismatic act you would commit would deprive them of the licit and, in some cases, even valid reception of the Sacraments they love and seek for their sanctification.” In the concluding part of the letter, the Pope affirmed the Holy See's willingness to embark on “a path of dialogue and understanding that the Holy Spirit can make possible and fruitful.” He added:
“I pray for you, because tearing the seamless garment of Christ is a sin of extreme gravity. May the Lord illuminate your consciences and awaken your hearts. By the authority received from Christ, with a sorrowful but still hopeful heart, I feel it my duty to ask you to desist from your intent, and I entrust these intentions to the Immaculate Heart of Mary, Mother of Good Counsel.”
A few hours later, Father Davide Pagliarani responded to Pope Leo XIV with a message written in a respectful yet equally heartfelt tone, reaffirming that the Society of Saint Pius X does not intend to separate itself from the Church, but rather to serve her in a situation it judges to be exceptional. The Superior General of the Society does not view the consecrations as a schismatic gesture, arguing instead that they aim to “mend the garment of Christ” torn by the crisis within the Church. Father Pagliarani then invited the Pope to take the necessary time for discernment, recalling that the Society had already been accused of schism in 1988, which did not prevent subsequent dialogue with the Holy See. The letter concludes with an appeal to the “paternal heart of the universal pastor” of Leo XIV, in the conviction that “one day all difficulties between the Holy See and the Society will be resolved.”
The Pope could not shirk his duty to remind the consecrators of the gravity of their actions. However, it was equally predictable that the Society of Saint Pius X would confirm a decision entirely consistent with the choice made by its founder. Indeed, the 2026 consecrations are deeply rooted in the events of 1988 and can only be understood by reconstructing the history that preceded them.
Chronos vs. Kairos
The ancient Greeks distinguished between chronos and kairos. Chronos is quantitative time—the measurable succession of chronological events. Kairos, on the other hand, indicates qualitative time: the decisive moment, the window of opportunity in which a choice permanently alters the course of events. The Fathers of the Church and medieval theologians adopted this distinction, investing it with a supernatural meaning. Chronos is the time in which man lives and operates; kairos is the moment in which God challenges man, placing him before a choice that will shape his future based on his cooperation with or rejection of grace.
For Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre, his personal kairos arrived during the night between May 5 and 6, 1988. It was then that the decision matured which would permanently mark his life and the history of the Society of Saint Pius X: to withdraw the signature he had placed just hours earlier on a protocol of agreement with the Holy See, and to proceed with the episcopal consecrations regardless, without a pontifical mandate.
To understand that decision, which represented a historic watershed moment, one must look back at the preceding months. In November 1987, Pope John Paul II sent Cardinal Édouard Gagnon to Écône as an Apostolic Visitor. The visit concluded with a report of roughly thirty pages delivered to the Pope in January 1988, in which the Canadian cardinal offered a substantially positive assessment of the Society's situation and suggested a canonical solution to facilitate full reconciliation with Rome.
Meanwhile, however, Archbishop Lefebvre had publicly announced his intention to consecrate at least three bishops by June 30, 1988, even without papal authorization. John Paul II did not abandon the path of dialogue. Meetings were organized between representatives of the Holy See and the Society on April 12 and 15, 1988, involving theologians and canonists from both sides. The favorable outcome of these conversations paved the way for a new meeting on May 5 between Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, then Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, and Archbishop Lefebvre.
The 1988 Protocol and the Point of No Return
The meeting concluded with the signing of a protocol of agreement destined to remain one of the most important documents in recent ecclesiastical history. In the first part, which was doctrinal, Archbishop Lefebvre, on behalf of himself and the Society, declared allegiance to the Catholic Church and the Roman Pontiff. He accepted the doctrine contained in section 25 of the Dogmatic Constitution Lumen Gentium regarding the ecclesiastical Magisterium and the assent owed to it. He committed to maintaining an attitude of study and dialogue with the Holy See, avoiding polemics regarding controversial points of the Second Vatican Council and subsequent reforms. He recognized the validity of the Mass and the sacraments celebrated according to the liturgical books promulgated by Paul VI and John Paul II. Finally, he promised to respect the general discipline of the Church, safeguarding the special canonical discipline that would be granted to the Society.
In return, the Holy See offered a far-reaching canonical solution. The Society would be erected as a Society of Apostolic Life of Pontifical Right, endowed with significant autonomy from diocesan bishops regarding worship, formation, and its apostolate. It would be granted the right to continue using the 1962 liturgical books. A mixed commission, composed of representatives from both the Holy See and the Society, would be established to resolve any eventual disputes. Furthermore, the protocol anticipated the lifting of the suspensio a divinis imposed on Archbishop Lefebvre, the regularizing of acts performed without the necessary faculties, and the legal recognition of the Society's houses and works. Crucially, the protocol recognized the opportunity to elevate a member of the Society to the episcopate, chosen from a list of three names proposed by Archbishop Lefebvre. The issue of securing a bishop—the founder's primary concern—seemed to have found a solution. The full text of the agreement was published in the following days by the Holy See Bulletin, the daily newspaper Présent, and the Society of Saint Pius X itself.
Less than twenty-four hours after signing, everything changed. On May 6, Archbishop Lefebvre addressed a letter to Cardinal Ratzinger declaring that he did not consider the guarantees received to be sufficient. He demanded that the consecration of the future bishop be scheduled for June 30, adding that, in the absence of a positive response, he would consider himself morally obliged to proceed with the episcopal consecrations himself.
What exactly happened during that sleepless night between Thursday, May 5, and Friday, May 6, which Archbishop Lefebvre spent at the Society's priory in Albano on Via Trilussa alongside some of his closest collaborators? What is certain is that the decision of May 6, 1988, marked the point of no return. From that moment on, dialogue progressively turned into a race against the clock.
A final meeting took place on May 24, during which Cardinal Ratzinger, on behalf of John Paul II, put forward the possibility of moving the episcopal appointment to August 15, conditional upon restoring a climate of trust and reconciliation with the Holy See based on the already signed protocol. Archbishop Lefebvre, in a letter dated June 2, rejected this proposal, insisting on the June 30 date and the appointment of three bishops to guarantee the life and activities of the Society. In a final letter on June 9, John Paul II implored Archbishop Lefebvre to reflect on the gravity of the consequences of the act he was preparing to commit, inviting him to return “in humility to full obedience to the Vicar of Christ.”
On June 30, 1988, assisted by Bishop Antônio de Castro Mayer, Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre consecrated four bishops without a pontifical mandate: Bernard Fellay, Bernard Tissier de Mallerais, Richard Williamson, and Alfonso de Galarreta. John Paul II reacted on July 2 with the Motu Proprio Ecclesia Dei adflicta, qualifying the act as “schismatic” and declaring that the consecrators and the consecrated had incurred the latae sententiae excommunication provided for by canon law.
Conclusion
Chronos has run its course: thirty-eight years have passed since then. Yet the kairos of 1988—the hour when Providence concentrated the weight of a historic decision into the hands of Archbishop Lefebvre—continues to cast its shadow over the present.
July 1, 2026, represents one of the most significant moments in the history of relations between the Holy See and the Society of Saint Pius X. This is not because it opens a brand-new crisis, but because it makes it undeniable that the crisis of 1988 was never truly resolved. It now enters a different phase, in which the core problem is no longer merely the legitimacy of four specific episcopal consecrations, but the permanence of an underlying doctrinal dilemma and the enduring continuation of a line of bishops destined to perpetuate itself independently of the authority of the Roman Pontiff.
