The Vatican's doctrine office issued a decree Thursday declaring the traditionalist Society of St. Pius X (SSPX) in formal schism and excommunicating its bishops and priests.
The move follows unauthorized consecrations in Econe, Switzerland.
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The canonical sanctions came after a five-hour ceremony on Wednesday where the SSPX ordained four new bishops.
This occurred despite an explicit written appeal from Pope Leo XIV to maintain church unity.
The Vatican went beyond minimum canon law requirements by expanding penal consequences to potentially thousands of rank-and-file Catholics who exclusively attend SSPX Masses.
The decree invalidates sacraments of confession and marriage administered by the group's roughly 750 priests.
Previous canonical concessions granted by Rome during years of outreach have been stripped. An estimated 15,500 people attended the Swiss ordination ceremony.
SSPX Response and Background
Media manager Marc-André Mabillard expressed shock at the severity of the sanctions, calling them "unjust."
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He said the excommunication extended to the faithful is "brutal" and not what they expect from a father figure.
Mabillard noted internal flaws but placed responsibility on the current pontiff for the breakdown in communication.
"Our main flaw today is having a leader who doesn't want to communicate with us," he added.
The dispute traces back to 1970 when French Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre founded the SSPX to oppose modernizing liturgical and theological reforms from the Second Vatican Council.
Lefebvre triggered similar excommunications in 1988 after consecrating four bishops without papal permission, though those penalties were later lifted by Pope Benedict XVI in 2009.
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The Vatican announced that its global ambassadors will establish procedures for local bishops to receive any individual SSPX followers who choose to return to communion with Rome.
