The Vatican has automatically excommunicated an ultra-conservative Catholic group after it defied Pope Leo by ordaining four bishops without papal consent.
The ceremony took place on Wednesday in Ecône, Switzerland, creating a formal schism within the Roman Catholic Church.
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The Holy See took decisive action against the Society of Saint Pius X (SSPX) following the unauthorized ordination, according to The Guardian.
This marks the first major internal crisis for Pope Leo since his election in May last year.
Cardinal Víctor Manuel Fernández, head of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, issued the official decree from the Vatican.
The ruling extends further than initially anticipated, applying to all formal adherents of the splinter order.
The Vatican stated that the group committed an act of a schismatic nature.
Pope Leo had previously attempted to intervene directly before the traditionalist ritual took place.
The pontiff issued a final warning to the organization, characterizing the planned ordinations as a grave violation of church unity.
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He condemned the defiance as a schismatic act and a sin of extreme gravity.
The leadership of the SSPX proceeded with the event despite the direct warnings from Rome.
The group defended its actions as a preservation of historical ecclesiastical practices, stating they are entirely faithful to tradition.
The organization maintained that its decision to install the new bishops was necessary for the continuation of their movement and described it as a sacred duty.
An estimated 16,500 people traveled to the Swiss village of Ecône to witness the ceremony.
The crowd included members of Italian far-right political factions, such as Forza Nuova and Futuro Nazionale.
Founded in 1970, the SSPX strongly rejects the modernized reforms of the Second Vatican Council, including the transition from Latin mass to local languages.
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The order maintains a global presence of nearly 1,500 vocational members, with significant operations based in Kansas, France, and Argentina.
