Society of Saint Pius V
sedevacantist society of priests
The Society of Saint Pius V (SSPV; Latin: Societas Sacerdotalis Sancti Pii Quinti) is a traditionalist Catholic society of priests, formed in 1983, and based in Norwood, Ohio, United States. The society's original headquarters was in Oyster Bay Cove, New York. The society was formed by a group of priests who broke away from the Society of Saint Pius X (SSPX) over liturgical issues.
The SSPV is sedevacantist, believing that the papacy has been vacant since the death of Pope Pius XII. The society was headed by one of its co-founders, Bishop Clarence Kelly, until his death on December 2, 2023. It is named after Pope Pius V, who promulgated the Tridentine Mass.
History
Founding
Four expelled priests plus five who voluntarily left the SSPX refused to accept Lefebvre's insistence on the 1962 Missal, as it was their opinion that it included departures from the liturgical traditions of the church (for example, inserting the name of Saint Joseph after that of the Blessed Virgin Mary in the Canon of the Mass). According to the now-Bishop Donald Sanborn (one of the nine priests), Lefebvre was imposing these liturgical and disciplinary changes in view of a reconciliation with the Vatican. A more basic reason was the belief amongst the nine that the claimants to the Papacy since the death of Pope Pius XII (d. 1958) had not been legitimate popes (Canon 1325, no. 2, 1917), although Fr.
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The record creator and administrative purpose are central evidence, because official documentation reflects both action and institutional priorities. The source revision retrieved here is dated Aug 29, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q2109637. 2 of 2 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1983, 2023, 1962 and 1958.
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This entry incorporates text from “Society of Saint Pius V” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.