Schism '26: Catholic Church excommunicates fascist-friendly sect
The SSPX, a traditionalist sect founded by a Nazi collaborator has been expelled by the Vatican
Beginning on March 19, the Feast of Saint Joseph, parishioners of churches affiliated with the Society of Saint Pius the 10th (SSPXX) began the Rosary Crusade for the Episcopal Consecrations, organised by the Legion of Mary Australia and New Zealand, to pray for the consecrations of new SSPX bishops. The consecrations were to take place on July 1, the feast of the precious blood, a feast day that the majority of Catholics stopped observing in 1969. “Please email ASAP the total number of 5-Decade Rosaries you said during the Crusade” the parish newsletter of Saint Anthony’s in Whanganui reminded readers, after promoting the upcoming fundraising jogathon and a farewell lunch for a departing priest (“Please bring a plate to share.”) Behind these provincial niceties however, the SSPX was gearing up to commit what Pope Leo XIV called “a sin of extreme gravity”. I’ll get to that, but first a little history:
The SSPX was founded by Marcel-François Lefebvre, a French Arch-Bishop who had supported the pro-Nazi Vichy regime during the second world war and described France’s liberation from the Nazis as ‘the victory of Freemasonry against the Catholic order of Pétain’. He remained a supporter of far-right parties until his death in 1991, advocating for the French to vote for the Front Nationale, describing Jean-Marie Le Pen’s ideal as “a government that applies real Catholic principles, like Franco and Salazar did.” (Referring to the fascist leaders of Spain and Portugal).
