CNA Staff, Aug 15, 2025 / 15:59 pm

The Vatican has included a pilgrimage by the Society of St. Pius X (SSPX) on its official calendar for the 2025 Jubilee Year, despite the traditionalist Catholic group’s historically fraught relationship with the Holy See.

The SSPX, founded in 1970 by Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre in Ecône, Switzerland, to preserve traditional Catholic practices amid the reforms of the Second Vatican Council (1962–1965), will hold a solemn high Mass and a procession to the Basilica of St. John Lateran on Aug. 20 .

In preparation for the pilgrimage to Rome, the SSPX began a novena to the Immaculate Conception from Aug. 11–19.

The SSPX, led by Superior General Father Davide Pagliarani, views the pilgrimage as an act of fidelity to “Eternal Rome,” emphasizing its commit

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