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SSPX reacts to meeting with DDF prefect, renews request to meet with Pope Leo
February 13, 2026
The Society of St. Pius X issued a statement following the February 12 meeting of its superior general, Father Davide Pagliarani, with Cardinal Víctor Manuel Fernández, prefect of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith (DDF statement, English translation, CWN analysis).
The Society stated that Cardinal Fernández requested the meeting after the Society’s February 2 announcement of its plan to ordain new bishops on July 1. “The conversation, held one-on-one at the Cardinal’s request, lasted an hour and a half and took place in an atmosphere that was both cordial and frank,” according to the Society.
The Society stated:
The Superior General was thus able to present, in person, the current situation of the Society of Saint Pius X and its duty, in the spiritual necessity in which souls find themselves, to ensure the continuation of the ministry of its bishops. Above all, he emphasized the spirit of charity in which the Society envisages these consecrations, as well as its sincere desire to serve both the souls and the Roman Church.
Finally, he renewed his desire that, given the wholly particular circumstances in which Holy Church finds itself, the Society may continue to operate in its current situation—exceptional and temporary—for the good of the souls who turn to it.
“Cardinal Fernández offered a different approach to the question,” the Society continued, as it summarized the contents of the dicastery’s statement. “The Cardinal stated orally that, while it would be possible to engage in dialogue about the Council, its texts could not be corrected. As a prior condition for this dialogue, it is required to suspend the decision regarding the announced episcopal consecrations.”
The Society’s statement concluded:
The Prefect of the Dicastery specifically asked the Superior General to present this proposal to the members of his Council and to take the necessary time to evaluate it. Father Pagliarani will therefore respond within the next few days. He will write directly to Cardinal Fernández and will also make his response known to the faithful.
The Superior General renewed to Cardinal Fernández his wish to be able to meet personally with the Holy Father. He remains very peaceful and is grateful for all the prayers offered. He continues to commend this situation to the prayers of the faithful.
The Society was founded in 1970 by Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre (1905-1991). Archbishop Lefebvre’s ordination of four bishops in 1988 without a pontifical mandate led to the automatic excommunications of the prelate and the four bishops (Canon 1387). In 2009, the Congregation for Bishops issued a decree remitting the excommunications, a decision that Pope Benedict XVI explained in a subsequent letter.
Two of the four bishops ordained in 1988—Bishop Bernard Fellay and Bishop Alfonso de Galarreta—are still alive. Bishop Bernard Tissier de Mallerais died in 2024; Bishop Richard Williamson, expelled from the Society in 2012, died last year.
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