Vatican News

The Vatican this week issued a decree declaring that the bishops involved in the traditionalist Society of St. Pius X’s illicit consecrations have incurred automatic excommunication and that the group is in schism with the Church.The illicit ordinations occurred in Écône, Switzerland, on July 1 after Pope Leo XIV had urged the group to “turn ... read more

Two bishops of the Society of St. Pius X (SSPX) — Spaniard Alfonso de Galarreta and Swiss Bernard Fellay — incurred automatic excommunication by committing the canonical offense of schism following the ordination of four bishops without the permission of Pope Leo XIV.The Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith on July 2 declared that ... read more

Editor’s Note: The following is the keynote address delivered by Archbishop Fortunatus Nwachukwu, secretary of the Dicastery for Evangelization, to young Catholic media professionals and guests during the closing dinner of the 2026 EWTN Summer Academy on July 1 in Rome.Gratitude and hopeAllow me to begin by expressing my heartfelt gratitude for the invitation to ... read more

Pope Leo XIV will follow in his predecessor Pope Francis’ footsteps with a visit to a major migrant landing point, the Italian island of Lampedusa, on July 4.Continuing his summer of day trips in Italy, the first U.S.-born pope will spend the U.S. Independence Day greeting immigrants, celebrating Mass, and visiting the tombs of Africans ... read more

The Vatican has released a new documentary, “Leone a Roma,” about Pope Leo XIV’s early years in Rome before his election to the papacy.Following its previous documentaries, “León de Perú” and “Leo from Chicago,” the documentary premiered July 1 on the Vatican News YouTube channels in English, Italian, and Spanish.The documentary covers the then-Father Robert Prevost’s nearly two ... read more

One day after the traditionalist Society of St. Pius X (SSPX) consecrated four bishops without the permission of Pope Leo XIV, the Vatican issued a decree declaring the excommunication of all bishops involved in the ceremony.Published on July 2 by the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, the decree specified that the consecrating bishops, ... read more

ROME — Cardinal Pietro Parolin, Vatican secretary of state, said Wednesday that the episcopal ordinations carried out earlier in the day without papal mandate by the Society of St. Pius X (SSPX) constitute a schismatic act.“I don’t think there is much to say about this episode,” Parolin said at an event July 1. “First of ... read more

The Vatican Museums has launched an ambitious restoration to the frescoes of the Hall of Raphael in the Apostolic Palace, expected to take five years and to cost 5.5 million euros (around $6.3 million).The Renaissance frescoes — which date to the early 16th century and have been virtually untouched since their creation — are in ... read more

Pope Leo XIV is not even two years into his pontificate and he is already facing one of the most delicate episodes of his ministry: a new rupture within the Church.In a defiant move and despite repeated warnings from Rome, the Society of St. Pius X (SSPX) went ahead Wednesday with the consecration of four ... read more

VATICAN CITY — The Vatican’s financial intelligence and anti-money-laundering authority has been overhauled under a new 12-article statute that eliminates its president and board and places it under a new structure led by a director and deputy director appointed by the pope.The Authority for Financial Information and Supervision, known by its Italian acronym ASIF, is ... read more