This letter from Fr. Davide Pagliarani was read to all the SSPX faithful at Mass last Sunday. It shows great hope, encouragement and gratitude. From fsspx.news.
Menzingen, July 19, 2026
Dear faithful,
A few days after the ceremony of July 1, I wish to address a few words to you.
I want first of all to thank you. For several years, I have prayed to the Most Holy Virgin so that she might prepare hearts for this historic event. I confess that I was deeply moved to see how each and every one of you accompanied the episcopal consecrations with your prayer and your gratitude toward divine Providence.
On July 1, many faithful from around the world were present at Écône, and they represented all of you. It was an immense joy to see them in such great numbers and with such fervor. As you surely know, a storm broke out during the ceremony: “Before the brightness of his presence, the clouds fled… And the Lord thundered from on high, and the Most High made his voice heard” (Ps. 17:13-14). At that moment, my joy doubled. On one hand, I was the privileged witness to a liturgy of exceptional beauty; on the other, I had before my eyes another beauty, just as moving: that of a vast crowd of faithful who remained in their places throughout the entire storm and prayed to Our Lady for the new bishops, for the Church, and for the Pope. Among them were elderly ladies on their knees, as well as young mothers holding their infants in their arms. It was the most beautiful image one could give of the Fraternity: faithful animated by an unshakeable faith, which nothing could disturb; souls for whom the holy sacrifice of the Mass is truly the center of their life. You cannot imagine the consolation that was mine at that moment. This scene has been deeply etched in my memory, and I will never be able to forget it.
Until the very last day, I had hoped for a gesture of benevolence, or at least of simple understanding, from the Holy See. But the consecrations were condemned, and the severity of the sanctions imposed is unprecedented. They target the bishops first, but also the members of the Fraternity. Even the faithful are affected. This condemnation, perfectly unjust, represents an immense humiliation for persons who have no other aim than to defend the true faith and to work for the salvation of souls. But I want you to know that this profound humiliation, which first touches the members of the Fraternity, has a meaning in the eyes of God that must not escape you. In the final analysis, these consecrations were carried out for each one of you, dear faithful. Your souls are the true treasure entrusted to the Fraternity, what it cherishes most. A single soul possesses infinite value. If, to ensure for it the teaching of the true faith and the administration of the true sacraments, it is necessary to pay the price of such a humiliation, then it is worth it, for a soul has no price. The feast of the Most Precious Blood of Our Lord, the price of our salvation, reminded us of this with force on July 1.
The sanctions intend to strike you as well in a rather cruel way. This is certainly painful, but do not be too surprised by it. In the end, it is Tradition itself, which we cherish more than anything, that is excommunicated in all those who embody it. It is obvious that, before God, such a condemnation cannot be valid, for it would condemn what is at the heart of the life of the Church itself.
But then, in the midst of this new storm, a question arises: what does Our Lord expect of you now? It is in the soul of each one of you that the faith must remain intact and alive. If Providence allows a crisis such that the teaching of the faith is mysteriously obscured, this same faith must continue to live in souls, despite all the contrary winds that seek to extinguish it. If the outward splendor of the official profession of the faith should disappear, the little candle that each one of you received on the day of his baptism must remain lit in his heart and in his mind until the last day. It is, in the end, the only thing that matters. This little flame is the first thing we received at the beginning of our Christian life, and it is also the only thing we will keep until the end.
I entrust you all to the Most Holy Virgin Mary, to whom the SSPX has been consecrated in a very special way. May she always protect you amid all the storms and all the difficulties, and may she keep this little flame alive in your souls when all the contrary winds are unleashed. All graces come to us through her hands. It is she whom we must thank for the grace of the consecrations, and it is she whom we must pray so that the new bishops may be ever more docile instruments to her inspirations, and that they may persevere until the end in this fidelity.
The Fraternity will never abandon you. Your souls will never lose their value and their price in the eyes of its priests.
May God bless you!
Davide Pagliarani
Leave a Reply