Bishop of Liège sends blessing to new SSPX priest from Liège
Man from Liège ordained priest by the Society of Saint Pius X: Bishop Delville responds
Father Vincent Richter, originally from Steffeshausen (Diocese of Liège), during his priestly ordination ceremony at the Society of Saint Pius X's international seminary in Écône (Valais, Switzerland) on June 29, 2026—the Solemnity of Saints Peter and Paul.
A young man from Steffeshausen, in the Diocese of Liège, was ordained a priest for the Society of Saint Pius X (SSPX) in Écône, Switzerland, on June 29. His bishop, Monsignor Jean-Pierre Delville, is responding with prayer and dialogue, at a time when the episcopal consecrations scheduled for July 1 are deepening the rift with Rome.
SSPX ≠ FSSP – The Priestly Fraternity of Saint Peter (FSSP) also celebrates the old rite (in Herstal and Verviers) but accepts the Council. Vincent Richter, a native of Steffeshausen in the German-speaking part of the Diocese of Liège, was ordained a priest by the Society of Saint Pius X on June 29—the Solemnity of Saints Peter and Paul—at the Écône seminary. Monsignor Jean-Pierre Delville, the Bishop of Liège, was informed of the event. His public response was far from an act of ostracism.
How did the Bishop of Liège respond to this ordination?
Monsignor Delville assured the new priest of his prayers and encouraged him to follow Christ in his future mission in Brazil. The Bishop of Liège issued neither a reprimand nor an excommunication. He chose an approach rarely seen in such situations: offering encouragement to a man he regards as a disciple of the Gospel.
Father Richter, he wrote, is called to serve Christ "as an authentic disciple of the Gospel." This tone contrasts with the sternness one might expect regarding an ordination conferred outside of communion with Rome. While others might have immediately cited canonical sanctions, the Bishop of Liège chose to offer a blessing.
For Monsignor Delville, fidelity to Tradition is dynamic.
To place this ordination in context, the Bishop of Liège invoked Saint John Henry Newman (1801–1890), the English theologian whom Pope Leo XIV proclaimed a Doctor of the Church on November 1, 2025. According to Monsignor Delville, the Lefebvrist dissent stems from a misunderstanding: confusing fidelity to Tradition with stagnation. Yet, following Newman, the Church "changes in order to remain the same." The title "Doctor of the Church"—reserved by the Pope for a saint whose teaching has left a lasting mark on Catholic doctrine—was applied to the man who wrote as early as 1845 that "to live is to change, and to be perfect is to have changed often" (*An Essay on the Development of Christian Doctrine*). For Newman, Christian doctrine awaits no new revelation; rather, it develops, bringing to light elements that had remained latent. It is this living tradition that Bishop Delville contrasts with a static attachment to the past.
Why the July 1st consecrations deepen the rift
By consecrating four new bishops without papal authorization on July 1, 2026, at Écône, the Society of Saint Pius X crosses a significant threshold. Church law requires a papal mandate for any episcopal consecration (Canon 1013); proceeding without one exposes both the consecrating and the consecrated bishops to excommunication. Bishop Delville views this as an escalation of dissent, though he does not close the door entirely.
The four priests in question will be consecrated by Bishop Alfonso de Galarreta, assisted by Bishop Bernard Fellay—one of the last bishops consecrated by Marcel Lefebvre. The Society presents this move as a service to souls, not as a claim to parallel authority. Rome, however, interprets it differently: as an act that solidifies the separation that began in 1988.
SSPX and the Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter: two forms of traditionalism not to be confused
The rift between Rome and the Society of Saint Pius X stems not primarily from the Latin Mass, but from the rejection of several texts from the Second Vatican Council (1962–1965) regarding religious freedom, ecumenism, and relations with other religions. In Steffeshausen, the SSPX ministers to a church it founded itself. It differs from the Fraternity of St. Peter—which also celebrates according to the old rite in Herstal and Verviers—in that the latter accepts the teachings of the Council.
This distinction is essential for anyone wishing to understand the traditionalist landscape in the province of Liège. Two communities, the same ancient liturgy, yet opposing stances toward Rome: one in full communion, the other in a state of dissent.
There remains the stance the Bishop of Liège maintains to the very end. Dissent, he writes, "does not prevent us from seeking dialogue with the dissident group, from challenging one another, and from establishing fraternal relations." The ordinations on July 1st will reveal whether there is still room for such dialogue.
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