Please consider joining me tomorrow morning, February 23, at 10 am US Eastern time (4 pm Rome time) in a live podcast with Bishop Athanasius Schneider, on our YouTube channel at this link.
—RM
Bishop Athanasius Schneider (born Anton Schneider on April 7, 1961, now 64 years old) is a Catholic prelate who serves as the Auxiliary Bishop of Astana, the capital of Kazakhstan, in central Asia, formerly part of the Soviet Union. He is a member of the Canons Regular of the Holy Cross of Coimbra. He is known for championing the pre-Vatican II liturgical traditions and practices of the Church, including the Tridentine Mass, and for protesting certain recent actions and statements by Church leaders which he says he finds problematic. I have met Bishop Schneider in Rome and in the United States, a number of time, and I have visited Kazakhstan. I have appreciated Schneider’s wide culture (he is an excellent pianist), his profound knowledge of the history and doctrine of the Church, his human warmth, and his deep love of the Church. I spoke with Bishop Schneider in a podcast last week (link), and now Schneider will be joining me on a live podcast tomorrow evening (tomorrow morning in the United States) from Astana, Kazakhstan, to discuss some of the issues and challenges facing the Church today (link)
Archbishop Marcel François Marie Joseph Lefebvre (November 29, 1905-March 25, 1991). Lefebvre was 85 when he passed away, 35 years ago now. He was a French Catholic prelate who served as Archbishop of Dakar, Senegal, in West Africa, from 1955 to 1962, where he was regarded as an effective, and holy, missionary. (The late Senegalese Cardinal Hyacinthe Thiandoum (1921-2004) told me in a private conversation in Rome in the 1990s, not long after Lefebvre died, that he believed Lefebvre, because of his deep Catholic faith and personal virtue, would one day be canonized as a saint.) During and after the Second Vatican Council (1962-65), Lefebvre became a major influence in traditionalist Catholicism, founding in 1970 the Society of St. Pius X (SSPX) to train traditionalist seminarians. In 1988, Pope John Paul II declared that Lefebvre had been automatically excommunicated for consecrating four bishops on June 28 that year without permission, and despite the Pope’s express prohibition. Now, in 2026, after 35 years, Lefebvre’s successors have announced that they intend to consecrate new bishops on July 1 to continue the work of the Society
Cardinal Víctor Manuel “Tucho” Fernández (born July 18, 1962, now 63 years old) is an Argentine prelate of the Catholic Church and a theologian. He is currently the head of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith. He served as rector of the Pontifical Catholic University of Argentina from December 2009 to April 2018. He was named Archbishop of La Plata on June 2, 2018. On July 1, 2023, Pope Francis named Fernández Prefect of the Holy See’s Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, beginning in mid-September, 2023. Pope Francis made Fernández a cardinal on September 30, 2023. On February 12, 10 days ago, Fernandez held a meeting in Rome with Fr. Davide Pagliarini (below), the head of the SSPX. Fernandez informed Pagliarini that the Holy See was proposing a theological dialogue with Society of St. Pius X, and asking the Society not to proceed to the consecration of new bishops in July. The ordination of bishops without a mandate from the Roman Pontiff—who, according to Pastor Aeternus (1870), holds supreme, full, universal, immediate, and direct ordinary power—would entail “a decisive rupture of ecclesial communion,” namely “a schism,” with “grave consequences for the Society as a whole,” the Dicastery said in a noon written statement. For this reason, the Vatican has proposed suspending the episcopal ordinations announced for July 1, 2026, which were declared without papal approval. Three days before Thursday’s meeting at the Holy Office, Cardinal Fernández was received in private audience on Monday morning, February 9, by Pope Leo XIV at the Apostolic Palace. (link)
Fr. Davide Pagliarani, born in Rimini, Italy, on October 25, 1970, is an Italian traditionalist Catholic priest and the current Superior General of the Society of St. Pius X (SSPX). Pagliarani entered the SSPX’s seminary in Flavigny-sur-Ozerain in 1989. Following his studies, he completed Italian military service. Pagliarani was ordained a priest of the SSPX in 27 June 1996 by the former Superior General, Bishop Bernard Fellay. On July 11, 2018, Pagliarani was elected superior general of the Society for a term of 12 years, succeeding Bishop Bernard Fellay. In 2021, five years ago, Pagliarani lamented the Apostolic Letter titled Traditionis Custodes by Pope Francis of July 16, 2021, restricting the use of the Tridentine Mass. Now, he has written a letter to the Holy See saying the Society has decided that it will go forward on July 1 to consecrate new bishops, despite warnings from Rome not to do so (link). I have met Fr. Pagliarani and have appreciated his faith and his human kindness. Here is an interview he gave some time ago which gives an insight into his mind and faith (link)
Cardinal Victor Fernandez and Fr. Davide Pagliarani in Rome on February 12, just after their meeting to try to find a way to an agreement. A few days later, the SSPX announced it would proceed to the consecrations of the new bishops without Rome’s approval
Pope Leo XIV. Pope Leo must now decide what to do with regard to this recently announced SSPX decision to go forward to consecrate several new bishops on July 1, without his own papal approval — an action which, in the ordinary course of things, would compel the Pope to excommunicate the entire SSPX from the Catholic Church. As of early 2026, the SSPX has more than 700 priests worldwide. According to 2025 statistics, the society reported 733 priests, operating in 37 countries with around 600,000 adherents. The loss to the Church of such a large group would be a tragic loss
Rooted in Hope: Private Island Retreat with Bishop Athanasius Schneider
June 15 – June 21, 2026
Inside the Vatican Pilgrimages invites you to join a special Pilgrimage and Retreat with Bishop Athanasius Schneider, June 15-21, 2026.
Highlights of our Croatia Retreat with Bishop Schneider, June 2026
- Five-day private island retreat with Bishop Schneider at an ancient, recently restored monastery
- Daily Mass celebrated in the Traditional Latin Rite
- Free time to pray, explore the island, swim in the blue Adriatic waters, walk with other pilgrims along the island path, and travel to nearby islands in a private boat
- One night in Split with time to explore the city on your own
