Preparing Hearts for the Episcopal Consecrations
Preparing Hearts for the Episcopal ConsecrationsA Message to the Faithful and Friends of the Priestly Society of Saint Pius X
Dear faithful and friends,
As we prepare for the episcopal consecrations, scheduled for 1 July in Écône, we wish, exceptionally, to make available to you an editorial that the Superior General addressed to the members of the Society on 7 March.
This text does not revisit the question of the consecrations themselves, but is devoted to recalling the spirit in which they must be prepared for and lived: a spirit of faith, charity, supernatural trust, and love of the Church. For it is not enough to enlighten one’s understanding if one does not dispose one’s heart at the same time.
Therefore, a few weeks before this ceremony, which is so important for the whole Church, we felt it was right to share these reflections with the faithful and friends of the Society, so that all may unite more deeply in this preparation, through prayer, sacrifice, and inner peace.
Notably, it includes a call to maintain, in the present circumstances, a profoundly supernatural perspective, a spirit of gentleness and strength, and a charity animated by a genuine concern for the good of souls and the Church.
Wishing you a good reading, we thank you for keeping these intentions in your prayers, under the watchful gaze of Our Lady Mediatrix of All Graces.
Father Foucauld le Roux
Secretary General
Editorial to the Members of the Society
Et nos credidimus caritati.
“And we have believed in charity”
1 Jn. 4:16
Dear confreres and members of the Society,
It is with great pleasure that, following the public announcement of the consecrations and a series of explanations, I can finally address you in a more personal manner. I would like to share with you some advice to help us in our moral and spiritual preparation as members of the Society. It is this preparation that will enable us, in turn, to accompany the faithful during this time.
The Necessity and Context of the Consecrations
There is no shortage of apologetical arguments. It is a matter of preserving the Faith, and all the means necessary to transmit it. It is a question of bringing the Faith to life in people’s souls. While the state of necessity could already be invoked in 1988, this state of necessity is, unfortunately, even more evident in 2026. This explains why the Society’s decision is met with an understanding that extends far beyond its borders.
There is a positive aspect to this situation. The announcement on 2 February left no one in the Catholic Church indifferent. Almost everyone feels concern and the need to express their approval or disapproval. This is providential, because sometimes words, opinions, and simple statements are no longer enough. They must be accompanied by meaningful actions that Divine Providence can use to shake consciences — and even the Church herself. I firmly believe that Divine Providence is at work in the current debate.
Supernatural Prudence
As for us, we must be able to take a step back from this debate, while remaining fully involved in it. The decision to proceed with the episcopal consecrations must first be guided by supernatural prudence. This prudence concerns not only those who make this decision, but also those who welcome and follow it. In other words, the stakes are so high that each member of the Society must be able, each at his own level, to understand and take personal responsibility for this decision before God.
Charity
However, the gravity of this decision is such that it cannot be guided by supernatural prudence alone. In order for this decision to be properly understood and explained, that is, by its highest causes, sub specie æternitatis — ‘in the light of eternity’ — it is essential to ask the Holy Ghost to grant us His wisdom. However, we must not forget that true wisdom — the wisdom that must guide us in this exceptional choice — is the daughter of charity. Only the virtue of charity can give us a certain connaturality with Our Blessed Lord and, consequently, enable us to perceive reality in a manner somewhat similar to God. Only on this condition can we have a proper appreciation of it.
We have already said and repeated that the reason behind the decision to proceed with episcopal consecrations is the salvation of souls. This should not be seen as mere rhetoric or a simple canonical justification. This reason of charity towards souls and the Catholic Church is what must ultimately prepare our souls, and those of the faithful, for the ceremony on 1 July.
Sometimes, when we speak of charity, some people feel that we are giving in to a form of weakness, or at least mixing a certain sentimentality with the authentic profession of the Catholic Faith. Such a sensitivity is incompatible with the spirit of Archbishop Lefebvre, with the spirit of the Society, and even more so with the spirit of Redemption. The strength of Our Blessed Lord in His Passion and on the Cross is nothing less than the measure of His charity.
It is with this same charity that, now more than ever, we must love souls and Holy Mother Church, even if its official representatives were to declare us excommunicated and schismatic once again: “These things have I spoken to you that you may not be scandalized. They will put you out of the synagogues: yea, the hour cometh, that whosoever killeth you, will think that he doth a service to God. And these things will they do to you; because they have not known the Father, nor me. But these things I have told you, so that when the hour shall come, you may remember that I told you of them.” (John 16:1-4)
The ultimate proof that we are in the truth will be our ability to maintain this spirit of charity, no matter what happens, and towards everyone without distinction.
What Does this Charity Actually Entail?
First and foremost, we must never succumb to bitterness. While we certainly have a duty to do everything possible to justify and explain the underlying reasons for the consecrations, this must be done with firmness, and never with bitterness, nor even with the slightest hint of bitter zeal. Obviously, we can become bitter because of excessive zeal, but also because we would have preferred a particular date, a particular candidate, or for things to have been done differently. Whatever the material cause of the bitterness, the remedy is always the same: Caritas patiens est — “charity is patient”.
Towards those to whom we speak, whoever they may be, and whether they understand us or not, we must always show kindness. When there is no understanding on the other side, when there is not even a willingness to listen to what we have to say and understand our reasons, it is very easy — humanly speaking — to fall into resentment. Caritas benigna est — “charity is kind”.
We must always remember that if Divine Providence has been merciful enough to give us a little light, to allow us to maintain the Church’s Traditions and to do what is necessary to defend them, it corresponds to an exceptional grace that we do not actually deserve. The awareness of this fact must entirely condition our attitude. If the consecrations represent a grace for the entire Society — a grace for which we must thank Divine Providence — this profoundly supernatural joy must not be confused with misplaced triumphalism, as if it were a human victory that we could attribute to ourselves, which would inevitably diminish its intrinsic value. Caritas non agit perperam, non inflatur — “charity dealeth not perversely, is not puffed up”.
Following the example of His Grace, Archbishop Lefebvre, in everything we do, we must not seek our own interests nor the survival of a personal endeavour, but rather the good of souls and the good of the Catholic Church. The Society is nothing more than a means of remaining faithful to the Church. If we are taking exceptional measures today to preserve the faith, the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, and the priesthood, it is because we want the whole Catholic Church — and every soul without distinction — to be able to benefit freely from them one day. All this belongs to the Church, and we are only its guardians. We ask nothing for ourselves. Our only reward will be to see one day Holy Mother Church reclaim her Traditions. Caritas non quærit quæ sua sunt — “charity seeketh not her own”.
If we must deploy all our efforts to defend the consecrations — and the Society already has a whole ‘arsenal’ at its disposal for this purpose — and if a holy anger is more necessary than ever in the face of the terrible deviations that are shaking the Church, we must nevertheless show neither contempt nor irritation in our explanations to those whom we are speaking to, and especially towards the hierarchy of the Catholic Church! We must know how to remain both firm and gentle at the same time. However, this is only possible with the help of Our Blessed Lord. Caritas non irritatur — “charity is not provoked to anger”.
If we come to be declared excommunicated and schismatic, this would not mean that we seek such a sanction or rejoice in it, for it would be objectively unjust. It is one thing to rejoice in receiving a new humiliation to offer to God, and it is quite another to rejoice (in a spirit of defiance) in an evil and an objective injustice that causes scandal to the whole Church. Caritas non gaudet super iniquitatem — “charity rejoiceth not in iniquity”.
If, on the contrary, there is a whole section of the Catholic Church that welcomes and supports the Society’s decision, and if the consecrations become a providential opportunity for renewed courage and enthusiasm — both within and outside the Society — we can only rejoice as God Himself can rejoice. Caritas congaudet veritati — “charity rejoiceth in the truth”.
No one could summarize the programme for the four months separating us from the consecrations, and the strength that must characterize our charity, better than Saint Paul: Caritas omnia suffert, omnia credit, omnia sperat, omnia sustinet — “charity beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things”.
This is true — today and in the future: Caritas numquam excidit — “charity never falleth away”.
The Example of the Blessed Virgin Mary
Now more than ever, the Immaculate Heart of Mary must be the refuge of the Society and the model for each one of us. No one had a better sense of souls and a sense of the Church than she. It was out of love for souls and love for the Church that she accepted to offer her own Son on Calvary. Her will was one with that of the Eternal and Sovereign High Priest, at the very moment when He offered Himself to the Father as a victim of expiation. It is this immeasurable charity and sorrow that made Our Lady the Co-redemptrix of the human race and gave her a unique glory in time and eternity.
And yet, despite all that this Immaculate Heart, pierced by a sword of sorrow, may have suffered, never did the slightest bitterness or resentment darken the radiance of her charity, even for an instant, and even towards those who had put her divine Son to death. Just as she did not hesitate, even for a moment, to carry out her sacrifice to the end, so her charity towards sinners never wavered. This is an unfathomable mystery of strength, gentleness, and love!
It is with these sentiments and this charity that we must prepare for the ceremony on 1 July, and strive to prepare all the faithful under our care.
May God bless you!
Menzingen, 7 March 2026, Feast of Saint Thomas Aquinas
Father Davide Pagliarani, Superior General