Alfonso de Galarreta
| Alfonso de Galarreta | |
|---|---|
Bishop Alfonso de Galarreta, circa 2011.
| |
| Other post | Auxiliary Bishop of the Society of Saint Pius X (1988 – present) |
| Orders | |
| Ordination | 24 August 1980 by Marcel Lefebvre |
| Consecration | 30 June 1988 by Marcel Lefebvre |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 14 January 1957 Torrelavega, Spain |
| Alma mater | The International Seminary of Saint Pius X |
| Motto | Omnia per Mariam (All by Mary) |
| Ordination history | |
| History Priestly ordination Ordained by Marcel Lefebvre Date 24 August 1980 Place La Rega, Argentina Episcopal consecration Principal consecrator Marcel Lefebvre Co-consecrators Antônio de Castro Mayer Date 30 June 1988 Place The International Seminary of Saint Pius X, Écône, Switzerland | |
| Episcopal succession Bishops consecrated by Alfonso de Galarreta as principal consecrator Pascal Schreiber 1 July 2026 Michael Goldade 1 July 2026 Michel Poinsinet de Sivry 1 July 2026 Marc Hanappier 1 July 2026 | |
Alfonso de Galarreta Genua FSSPX (born 14 January 1957) is a Spanish-born Argentine excommunicated[1] Traditionalist Catholic bishop who has served as an Auxiliary Bishop of the Society of Saint Pius X (SSPX) since 1988. Since 2018, de Galarreta has served as the First Assistant of the Society of Saint Pius X, working under the direction of the Superior General Davide Pagliarani.[2] In addition to this, Bishop de Galaretta has been the President of the SSPX–Vatican Commission since 2009, which directs the Society's correspondence with the Holy See.[3]
During the pontificate of Pope Benedict XVI in 2009, the Holy See officially declared the remission of the SSPX's contested automatic excommunications.[4]
In 2026, Bishop de Galarreta was again excommunicated from the Catholic Church for consecrating four bishops without a papal mandate and against the direct orders of Pope Leo XIV.
1988 Écône consecrations
In June 1988, Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre announced his intention to consecrate de Galarreta and three other priests (Bernard Fellay, Bernard Tissier de Mallerais, and Richard Williamson) as bishops. Lefebvre did not have a pontifical mandate for these consecrations (i.e. permission from the pope), normally required by Canon 1382 of the 1983 Code of Canon Law. On 17 June 1988 Cardinal Bernardin Gantin, prefect of the Congregation for Bishops, sent the four priests a formal canonical warning that he would automatically incur the penalty of excommunication if they were to be consecrated by Lefebvre without papal permission.
On 30 June 1988 de Galarreta and the three other priests were consecrated bishop by Archbishop Lefebvre and Bishop Antônio de Castro Mayer. On 1 July 1988 Cardinal Gantin issued a declaration stating that Lefebvre, de Castro Mayer, de Galarreta, and the three other newly-ordained bishops "have incurred ipso facto the excommunication latae sententiae reserved to the Apostolic See".
On 2 July 1988, Pope John Paul II issued the motu proprio Ecclesia Dei, in which he reaffirmed the excommunication, and described the consecration as an act of "disobedience to the Roman pontiff in a very grave matter and of supreme importance for the unity of the Church", and that "such disobedience – which implies in practice the rejection of the Roman primacy – constitutes a schismatic act".[5]
The SSPX denied the legal validity of the excommunication, saying that the consecrations were necessary due to a moral and theological crisis in the Catholic Church and thus continued to operate regardless.[6]
In 2009, the excommunications were remitted by Pope Benedict XVI.[7] The canonical situation of the four bishops thus became the same as that of the other clergy of the Society, who are suspended a divinis.[8]
2026 Écône consecrations
For principally consecrating four bishops against the explicit orders of Pope Leo XIV, and doing so without a papal mandate, In July 2026, Alfonso and Bishop Bernard Fellay were automatically excommunicated from the Catholic Church.[9]
References
- Back to citation "Decreto del Dicastero per la Dottrina della Fede". press.vatican.va. Retrieved 2 July 2026.
- Back to citation General Assistants
- Back to citation SSPX's members of theological commission named
- Back to citation Remissione della scomunica latae sententiae ai vescovi della Fraternità sacerdotale San Pio X, 24.1.2009 Archived 1 February 2009 at the Wayback Machine
- Back to citation Apostolic letter Ecclesia Dei (2 July 1988). Vatican.va. Accessed 18 May 2017.
- Back to citation SSPX FAQ Question 11 Archived 12 April 2011 at the Wayback Machine (29 June 1987). SSPX.org. Retrieved 18 May 2017; The 1988 consecrations: a canonical study Archived 7 August 2011 at the Wayback Machine (November 1999). Sì sì no no via SSPX.org. Retrieved 18 May 2017; SSPX FAQ Question 11 (29 June 1987). SSPX.org. Accessed 2008-01-01 Archived 12 April 2011 at the Wayback Machine; The 1988 consecrations: a theological study (July & September 1999). Sì sì no no via SSPX.org. Accessed 2008-01-01 Archived 7 August 2011 at the Wayback Machine; The 1988 consecrations: a canonical study (November 1999). Sì sì no no via SSPX.org. Accessed 2008-01-01 Archived 7 August 2011 at the Wayback Machine
- Back to citation "Decree remitting the excommunication "latae sententiae" of the Bishops of the Society of St Pius X".
- Back to citation Letter of the Pontifical Commission Ecclesia Dei of 29 September 1995
- Back to citation "Can. 1387" (PDF). Code of Canon Law. Retrieved 28 January 2023.