Pope Leo XIV issued an urgent plea to the Society of St. Pius X (SSPX) to stop planned bishop consecrations that lacked papal approval. The Vatican also warned that lay believers who formally adhere to the SSPX could face excommunication, and that consecrating bishops without papal approval is a direct act of insubordination that leads to automatic excommunication. Insiderpaper.com reported that the planned consecration could trigger a full schism with the mainstream Catholic Church. The SSPX, which celebrates the ancient Latin Mass and opposes modernizing reforms of the Catholic Church, was scheduled to consecrate bishops at a mass attended by approximately 15,500 people, according to gdelt.

Accounts differ on how many bishops were excommunicated following the consecrations. Other reported that the Vatican excommunicated four new bishops consecrated by the SSPX, while another source said the Vatican excommunicated six bishops from the SSPX on Thursday. Both figures are presented without resolution.

Gdelt reported that four bishops were consecrated during the mass attended by about 15,500 participants.