Pope Leo appears to call Latin Mass ‘personal preference’
Pope Leo urged the faithful to ‘place communion with the successor of Peter and with the Church before your personal preferences’ in what could be considered a jab at the SSPX.
Pope Leo XIV
celebrates a solemn outdoor mass at Place de la Concorde on September 26, 2026,
in Paris, FranceAurore Marechal/Getty Images
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Mon Sep 28, 2026 - 4:43 pm EDT
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(LifeSiteNews) — Pope Leo XIV appeared to take a jab at the Society of St. Pius X (SSPX) in a homily during Vespers on Friday at the Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris.
Leo discussed the liturgy during his homily, saying that the Second Vatican Council “deepened” our liturgical heritage and asking that “liturgical celebrations are always carried out with dignity and reverence.”
The liturgy is “a reflection of life,” Leo said. “Eucharistic joy takes root and spreads wherever harmony is restored, wherever dignity is renewed, wherever authority becomes service, and wherever freedom is able to flourish again. This is the greatest gift we can share.”
“Therefore, place communion with the successor of Peter and with the Church before your personal preferences, so as to foster the unity of God’s people. Thus, together, we will bear prophetic witness to the possibility of a reconciled world,” Leo went on.
His emphasis on “communion” with the pope and its elevation above one’s “personal preferences” could easily be interpreted as a reference to the SSPX and the traditional Latin Mass (TLM), respectively. The SSPX is known for exclusively offering the TLM but is most distinctive for its rejection of apparent errors within Vatican II documents. Leo “excommunicated” the SSPX bishops this summer after the traditional society’s episcopal consecrations without the approval of the pope.
Father Gerald Murray, a Canon lawyer, has pointed out that the Vatican’s document pronouncing the excommunications does not have legal effect in excommunicating any SSPX priests or laypeople attending their Masses.
In addition, the SSPX has filed a preliminary canonical appeal against the Vatican decree of excommunication issued July 2, suspending its force under canon law.
Archbishop Jan Pawel Lenga, a former bishop in Kazakhstan known for surviving communism and his previous outspoken criticism of Pope Francis, has arguedthat the declared excommunications are invalid. He believes the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith (DDF)’s pronouncement under the direction of the heretical Cardinal Victor Manuel Fernández is evidence that the Vatican has departed from Christ and authentic faith.
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