Society of St. Pius X went ahead with a consecration ceremony on Wednesday, July 1, 2026, in Econe, Switzerland, and raised four new bishops despite a last-ditch appeal by Leo to call it off. The ceremony took place in a tent outside the Society of St. Pius X seminary.
Marc Hanappier, Michel Poinsinet de Sivry, Michael Goldade and Pascal Schreiber were consecrated at the ceremony. Michael Goldade was shown delivering his blessing at the end, a closing moment that captured how the rite moved from preparation to ordination.
Econe tent ceremony
The Society of St. Pius X held the event at its seminary in Econe, a setting that fit the group’s own ritual-filled approach. The ceremony involved four bishops at once, making the consecration a formal transfer of status rather than an ordinary service.
For the four men named at the ceremony, the result was immediate: they emerged as newly consecrated bishops. In practical terms, that gives the group four additional bishops tied to the event at Econe.
Leo’s appeal
Leo had made a last-ditch appeal before Wednesday to stop the ceremony. The Society of St. Pius X did not follow that appeal and carried out the consecrations anyway.
That split between the appeal and the ceremony is the key fact for readers trying to understand the outcome. Leo asked for the event to be called off; the Society of St. Pius X proceeded, and the four consecrations stood as the finished act of the day.
Society of St. Pius X response
The Society of St. Pius X has opposed modernizing reforms in the Catholic Church, which places the Econe ceremony within a longstanding break from the mainstream direction of the church. The tent outside the seminary and the number of bishops consecrated made the day more than a local rite.
What specific action, if any, followed the consecration ceremony for the four new bishops was not laid out in the available facts. For now, the consequential detail is straightforward: Leo asked for a halt, and Society of St. Pius X went ahead with four bishops in Econe.
