PeoplePublic figure
Fr. Davide Pagliarani is the superior general of the Society of Saint Pius X (SSPX), which he leads with its General Council.
On 2 February 2026, at the society's seminary in Flavigny-sur-Ozerain, France, he announced that the society's bishops would confer new episcopal consecrations on 1 July 2026. The society said the decision had the General Council's unanimous support and was required by a "grave necessity" of souls (sspx.org). According to the Catholic Herald, he said letters he sent to the Vatican in August and November 2025 had gone unanswered.
On 12 February he met Cardinal Víctor Manuel Fernández, prefect of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, who proposed a theological dialogue conditional on suspending the consecrations (Vatican News). In a reply published days later he declined to postpone, citing continuing disagreement over the Second Vatican Council (sspx.org).
Pope Leo XIV addressed his letter of 29 June 2026 to Pagliarani, asking the society to desist (vatican.va). Pagliarani replied within hours, asking the Pope to take the time such discernment requires (InfoVaticana). He preached the homily at the 1 July consecrations (Fr. Z's Blog).
After the Holy See's 2 July decree, he wrote to Leo XIV calling the penalties "objectively unjust and invalid" while saying the society did not receive them in a spirit of bitterness or rebellion (Catholic World Report). The society then lodged a canonical recourse (America). As a priest, he is not among the six bishops named in the decree; its explanatory note states that the society's clergy are to be considered schismatic, a point whose legal effect canonists dispute (Crux; Catholic Answers).
Dated events, newest first.
Landmark
At Écône, Bishop Alfonso de Galarreta, assisted by Bishop Bernard Fellay, consecrated Pascal Schreiber, Michael Goldade, Michel Poinsinet de Sivry and Marc Hanappier as bishops for the Society of Saint Pius X, in defiance of the Holy…
On the eve of the ceremony, Leo XIV appealed to the Society to turn back, warning that the consecrations would deprive its faithful of the licit, and in some cases even valid, reception of the sacraments. In the letter, dated 29 June and…
In a letter dated 18 February, SSPX Superior General Davide Pagliarani confirmed that the consecrations would go ahead on 1 July, citing unresolved disagreement over the Second Vatican Council; Catholic World News reported that the…
Officials of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, led by its prefect, Cardinal Víctor Manuel Fernández, met the SSPX at the dicastery; America reported that the Vatican held firm against the planned consecrations. Meeting superior…
On 2 February 2026, at the society's seminary in Flavigny-sur-Ozerain, France, superior general Davide Pagliarani announced that the Society of Saint Pius X would consecrate new bishops without a papal mandate on 1 July 2026, citing a…
2 published pieces, newest first.
The SSPX episcopal consecrations of 2026
The SSPX and its supporters say a crisis in the Church made consecrating bishops without a papal mandate necessary. Here is that argument in their words, and what the Holy See said before and after 1 July.
About: FSSPX.NewsSociety of Saint Pius X (SSPX)Carlo Maria ViganòDavide Pagliarani
The SSPX episcopal consecrations of 2026
Fr. Davide Pagliarani rejected the 2 July sanctions in a letter to Pope Leo XIV, and the Society later said its recourse suspends the decree. How those claims compare with the documents.
About: Society of Saint Pius X (SSPX)Davide Pagliarani