The Society of St. Pius X (SSPX), a traditional Catholic religious society, will ordain four new bishops next month. The SSPX has had a rocky road with the Vatican, as the SSPX refuses to participate in any liturgy that is not the Traditional Latin Mass. The SSPX has refuted some, but not all, articles of Vatican II. In 1988, the newly ordained bishops of the SSPX (together with the founder of the SSPX, Bishop Marcel Lefebvre) were excommunicated by Pope John Paul II after they were ordained by Bishop Lefebvre without approval by the Vatican. The excommunications were later lifted by Pope Benedict XVI. During the often-labeled “bizarre” reign of Pope Francis, the SSPX was given almost full establishment blessings for their activities by Pope Francis despite the Francis’ disdain for the Traditional Latin Mass.
The SSPX now faces a dilemma; it needs to have a bishop to ordain new priests, as vocations to the SSPX remain brisk and far outnumber most, if not all, of the dioceses in many parts of the world. Furthermore, the SSPX has literally hundreds of thousands of Catholics that attend their Masses and support the SSPX.
The SSPX attempted on numerous occasions to dialog with the Vatican on having more bishops installed, as 3 of the 4 bishops of the SSPX have passed away. The Vatican did not oblige. Therefore, the SSPX has announced the upcoming ordinations of 4 new bishops next month, once again, without Vatican approval. The Vatican then decided to have discussions with the SSPX; they have not borne any fruit. This will most likely result in another round of excommunications.
The upcoming bishops are young: 53, 45, 42, and 36 years of age. This may signal the desire of the SSPX to have a view of their presence spanning a long time into the future.
In 2005, the Vatican clarified that, although the SSPX was not in administrative communion with the Church, nonetheless, it was not sinful to attend a Mass said by the SSPX and that these Masses were valid, even if they were not considered licit. Furthermore, it was not sinful to support the activities of the SSPX as long as the support was not in a spirit of schism with the Catholic Church. In the Gaylord Diocese, the SSPX has had a longstanding presence in Mancelona, where weekly Masses are said. (Priests of the SSPX do a form of circuit riding to various chapels that the SSPX has established across the globe.) In Mancelona, Fr. Michael Goldade was the pastor at the chapel for years before moving up the administrative ladder with the SSPX to his current post as rector of the SSPX seminary in Virginia. He is one of the priests of the SSPX that will be ordained a bishop next month. Members of the Mancelona parish remember his time in Mancelona and spoke highly of him.
Much can be said for or against the SSPX. However, it was the SSPX that continued to have Masses said during the disastrous COVID lockdowns that the US bishops promoted. The SSPX has saved many religious artifacts that otherwise would have landed in dumpsters and landfills. Although debatable, perhaps the Traditional Latin Mass may have been permanently left to the dustbin of history if not for the tenacious perseverance of the SSPX in demanding this Mass be available for the faithful. Certainly, without bishops to ordain more priests and offer the Sacrament of Confirmation for its faithful, the SSPX will wither and die on the vine. Based on his age, the future of the SSPX will include a former Michigan priest to sacramentally lead it well into the future.