(LifeSiteNews) – Austrian Bishop Wilhelm Krautwaschl said the Priestly Fraternity of Saint Pius X (SSPX) may not use the Basilica of Mariazell for its annual public Rosary this fall despite a much more accommodating history with homosexual and Muslim groups.
Gloria TV reported that the decision to disallow the SSPX from using the basilica for the October 4 event, which dates to 1975, was announced August 27. The proceedings traditionally consist of prayer, hymns, and a blessing, but no Mass or sacraments were to be offered.
Another Marian shrine BANS SSPX from praying Rosary.
After Lourdes, Mariazell has blocked SSPX pilgrims from accessing the basilica.
The SSPX is now banned from two of Europe’s main Marian shrines. pic.twitter.com/BYihH8vc6E
— Sign of the Cross (@CatholicSOTC) September 1, 2026
Traditional Catholic commentator Chris Jackson added that no explanation for the decision was publicly given, but it presumably relates to the Vatican’s excommunication of the fraternity this summer upon declaring it in schism for “episcopal consecrations celebrated without a papal mandate, against the will of the Holy Father, in open violation of canon law.”
READ: SSPX expresses ‘sorrow and incomprehension’ over Lourdes restrictions
Regardless of that dispute, Gloria noted that Krautwaschl has a record of embracing others who conflict much more clearly with Catholic teaching. In 2021, he allowed the Catholic parish church of Graz-St. Peter to host a joint Christian-Muslim evening prayer and said he was “disappointed” by the Vatican’s opposition to blessing same-sex unions. Two years later, he declared such blessings “must not be refused.”
In 2024, Krautwaschl’s diocese promoted an “ecumenical Rainbow/Pride service,” and a Lenten reflection prayed to the “God of diversities” with an affirmation that “There is not just blue or pink, boy or girl, man or woman.” Last year, Graz Cathedral hosted another interfaith Christian-Muslim ceremony where Krautwaschl encouraged members of different faiths to “go together into the future.”
“How can an institution remain the Church’s reliable rule of faith while its governing class makes apostolic succession negotiable with an atheist state, Eucharistic language elastic enough for same-sex partnerships, and Catholic unity too narrow for the old Mass or an SSPX Rosary?” Jackson asked. “A shepherd may act imprudently. He may sin. He may appoint a scoundrel. But when the exceptions form a governing method, Catholics are entitled to ask whether they are looking at the abuse of Catholic authority or the operation of another religion wearing its legal shell.”