Nestled in the foothills of the Pyrénées, the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Lourdes is one of Catholicism’s most important pilgrimage sites, drawing millions of visitors each year, including sick and disabled believers hoping for a cure from its famed spring waters.
The hallowed site is also a flashpoint in a decades-long dispute dividing the Catholic world, which threatens to put a damper on Pope Leo’s visit to the shrine on Sunday – a highlight of the first papal state visit to France in almost 20 years.
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The dispute involving the ultra-conservative Society of Saint Pius X (SSPX) escalated sharply in July when the Vatican excommunicated followers of the splinter sect who defied Pope Leo by ordaining four bishops – including two Frenchmen – without his consent.
Following the schism, the bishop of Tarbes and Lourdes declared that SSPX members would be barred from organising events at the sanctuary in October for their annual Pilgrimage of Christ the King, which draws thousands of pilgrims from across Europe to the vast underground halls of the Basilica of Saint Pius X in Lourdes.
Challenge to the Vatican
Named after an early 20th-century pope who opposed modernising Catholic doctrine, the Society of Saint Pius X was founded in 1970 in response to the reforms of the Second Vatican Council (1962-1965, also known as Vatican II), which sought to reconcile the Roman Catholic Church with the modern world.
The Society notably rejects changes introduced at Vatican II to how Mass is celebrated, insisting that services be held in Latin and with priests facing the altar rather than the congregation. It also opposes religious freedom and interfaith dialogue.
SSPX members tend to espouse socially conservative views and are sometimes referred to as Lefebvrists, a reference to the organisation’s founder, Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre. They are thought to number roughly 600,000 worldwide, with the largest contingents in France and the US.
The Vatican and the rebel sect have long been at loggerheads. Pope John Paul II first excommunicated SSPX bishops in 1988, though his successor Benedict XVI reversed the decision two decades later in an attempt to bridge the divide. More recently, the late Pope Francis made further concessions on sacraments, allowing Society priests to celebrate marriages under certain conditions.
Those concessions have been rolled back as a result of the latest excommunications, which appear to go further than past censures of the sect.
In addition to targeting the Society’s six bishops, the Vatican’s July decree ruled that any lay members who “formally adhere” to the group “are to be considered schismatic and excommunicated”. The unusual move suggests Pope Leo intends to take a firmer stance than his predecessors.
“Leo XIV is a pacifist and a gentle man, determined to heal the wounds of the Church. But a key priority for him is the need for unity around the texts of Vatican II,” says Martin Dumont, a historian of Catholicism at Sorbonne University in Paris.
The pope had pleaded with the Society not to go ahead with the planned consecrations, warning that the “schismatic act” would constitute “a sin of extreme gravity”. By ignoring his warning, the sect effectively “challenged the authority of Leo XIV”, adds Dumont, for whom the bishops’ consecration “forced the Pope to take action”.
Glorifying Vichy France
With an estimated 700 priests worldwide, the ultra-conservative group remains a minority sect in the global Catholic Church – albeit a highly vocal one, backed by an extensive network of chapels, schools and religious communities. Its presence in France is growing year on year, says Dumont, “with large families ensuring it has the capacity to replenish its ranks”.
The SSPX has a historic bastion in the heart of Paris with the church of Saint-Nicolas-du-Chardonnet. It also has a strong foothold in western France, particularly in the historically pious regions of Brittany and Vendée, and runs a network of more than 50 schools labelled as “hors contrat”, meaning they do not follow the standard French curriculum.
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Critics, including former members of the Society, have accused it of entertaining cultish practices and sectarian abuse. According to a report in the Nouvel Obs weekly, the French Interior Ministry has placed the SSPX under surveillance.
French media investigations of SSPX-run schools have uncovered textbooks glorifying Marshal Philippe Pétain, the leader of Nazi-allied Vichy France. One history book made no mention of the term “Shoah”, commonly used in France to refer to the Holocaust.
When it comes to far-right leanings, the Society has a track record dating back to its founder, who “tended to express sympathy for authoritarian regimes”, notes Dumont.
One of the first bishops Lefebvre ordained in 1988, the Briton Richard Williamson, caused uproar by denying the Holocaust. He was eventually expelled over disagreements with SSPX leaders but went on to become a leading figure in the more radical Lefebvrist circles.
The Society made headlines again last year after one of its members attempted to celebrate a Mass in tribute to the Spanish dictator Francisco Franco and the founder of the fascist Falange movement, Antonio Primo de Rivera. The ordination ceremony that sparked the latest schism in July was attended by members of Italy’s neofascist Forza Nuova and a new far-right party, Italia Futura (Future Italy), which has emerged as a challenger to Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni.
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Once close to Jean-Marie Le Pen’s far-right National Front party, the Society has since distanced itself from the rebranded National Rally of his daughter Marine Le Pen, largely due to the party’s shifting stance on abortion and same-sex marriage, Dumont says.
“While at one time members of the Society of Saint Pius X might have voted overwhelmingly for Jean-Marie Le Pen, nowadays sympathy for the National Rally is tempered by a certain indifference towards political parties, with many worshipers preferring to focus on prayer and pious works,” he says.
Appeasement
In the run-up to the pope’s visit, SSPX leaders in France have sought to strike a conciliatory tone, pledging not to seek a confrontation with the pope while also stressing that his stances on societal issues will be closely watched.
“Beyond the (Society’s) temporary difficulties (with the Vatican), this visit represents a special honour for all Catholics in France, and we cannot remain indifferent to it,” said Father Gonzague Peignot, one of the sect’s senior representatives in France.
“We are awaiting a statement from the Holy Father on the painful issue of euthanasia,” he added, referring to the recent approval by France’s National Assembly of a bill allowing adults with incurable illnesses to receive lethal medication – the culmination of years of debate over end-of-life care in France.
The Society is also hoping for firm condemnation of a 2024 vote by French lawmakers enshrining abortion rights in the French constitution.
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The splinter sect, which is appealing its excommunication, said it had written to the pope “to assure him that it did not receive these sanctions with bitterness or defiance”. It said its churches would mark his visit with moments of prayer, but no High Mass.
Other traditionalist groups will feature prominently during the papal visit, including the High Mass celebrated on Place de la Concorde and the Champs-Elysées in Paris on Saturday, where they will have their own designated area, Dumont says.
One group with far-right leanings, SOS Calvaires, has already played a conspicuous role, building a four-metre-high cross that will stand behind the Pope on Friday evening as he holds a prayer vigil with 80,000 youths at the Stade de France.
This article was adapted from the original in French.
