Cubao Diocese Opens Doors to Excommunicated SSPX Followers

MANILA, Philippines — The Diocese of Cubao is opening its doors to followers of the Society of Saint Pius X (SSPX), offering counseling and the possibility of holding the traditional Latin Mass for them, after the group’s formal break with the Catholic Church. Cubao Bishop Elias Ayuban Jr. on Tuesday made the offer in a pastoral letter, noting that all the sacraments being celebrated by SSPX bishops and priests “become illicit” following their excommunication by the Vatican. The sacraments of confession and marriage to be celebrated are “invalid,” he added. “Since our Holy Mother the Church now asks her sons and daughters who have been associated and continue to be associated with the Society to no longer participate in their liturgies, I urge the clergy and the faithful of the Diocese of Cubao to welcome them with charity, understanding, and peace,” Ayuban said in his letter. “Through preaching and catechism, may we avoid condemnation but approach the matter with tact and sensitivity,” he added. Ayuban said the diocese will organize a group of priests and lay faithful who can “competently and compassionately provide information, counseling and pastoral assistance” to SSPX followers. He added that the diocese will also explore the possibility of providing additional traditional Latin Mass in order to accommodate a greater number of devotees. Members of SSPX in Manila attend Mass at the Our Lady of Victories Church along Cannon Road in New Manila, Quezon City, which is near the Immaculate Conception Shrine in Cubao, Quezon City, the seat of the diocese. Inquirer calls to the Our Lady of Victories Church remained unanswered at press time. Ayuban’s pastoral letter, posted by the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines on Facebook, elicited comments praising him for his “fatherly love” toward SSPX. On July 2, the Vatican excommunicated the bishops and priests of SSPX for consecrating four bishops without authorization from the Pope, an act considered as “schism” or a “refusal of being united with the Church.” The society belongs to the traditionalist Catholic movement, which celebrates the ancient Latin Mass, among other rituals and practices that were restricted after the Second Vatican Council (Vatican II), in the early 1960s. It was founded in Switzerland in 1970 by French Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre, who traded criticisms with the Vatican, declared Vatican II reforms to be rife with “heresy” and called the modern form of Mass a “bastard rite.” Vatican withdrew approval of the group in 1975. In 1988 Lefebvre and four other bishops he consecrated in defiance of Pope John Paul II’s orders were excommunicated. Lefebvre died in 1991, but the society remained active. In January 2009, Pope Benedict XVI lifted their excommunication, but two months later, he clarified that the SSPX had no canonical status in the Church. In 2016, as part of the Jubilee Year of Mercy, Pope Francis allowed SSPX priests to validly absolve sins during confession, and later approved the validity of marriages celebrated by its priests in traditional churches on certain conditions. As of July 2026, SSPX counts two bishops, 751 priests, 264 seminarians training in five seminaries, 145 religious brothers, 88 oblates and 250 religious sisters representing 50 nationalities, according to their own statistics. The society says it is present in more than 75 countries across six continents, with nearly half a million faithful. According to the SSPX website, the Philippines falls under the society’s District of Asia, which has a total of five priories, 52 chapels, one retreat center, and one school. Fr. Patrick Summers was made the District Superior of Asia in August 2018, replacing Fr. Karl Stehlin who had previously been Superior in Asia for four years. The SSPX website lists 26 chapels and missions served by Society priests in the Philippines alone. Included in these chapels is Our Lady of Victories Church located in Quezon City, which is active to this day. Its social media accounts list its pages as the official accounts for SSPX-Manila. In his pastoral letter, Ayuban also noted that the bishops and priests of SSPX who decide to leave the group may still be reconciled and readmitted to the Catholic Church. While the followers of SSPX do not automatically face the same consequences, he said they must “discern and decide not to take part anymore in the liturgies celebrated by the ministers of SSPX.” Otherwise, the bishop warns that “they are in danger of not only participating in illicit and invalid sacraments but also of incurring for themselves the pain of excommunication.” “I am saddened that many of you, dear lay faithful, who have sincerely worshipped at liturgies celebrated by the Society, now find yourselves not only in a painful moment of discernment but also being deprived of the sacraments,” said Ayuban. “I know that many of you never intended to reject what Mother Church teaches you or disobey the Holy Father. I want to assure you, that in these moments of great spiritual difficulty, you remain part of the Catholic Church and you will always have a place in the local church of Cubao,” he added. —WITH REPORTS FROM MARC ANDRE ESGUERRA, AND INQUIRER RESEARCH