Congratulations Archbishop Burke

Well, what many have suspected has come true. Archbishop Raymond L. Burke has been named by the Holy Father as prefect of the Supreme Tribunal of the Apostolic Signatura, the Church's Supreme Court.

This is the statement issued by His Grace:

I am deeply humbled by the trust which His Holiness has placed in me, and, in priestly obedience, I have pledged to serve our Holy Father to the best of my abilities. Although you will no longer pray for me as your archbishop, especially during the celebration of the Holy Mass, I ask your prayers for me, that I may faithfully and generously cooperate with God's grace in fulfilling my new responsibilities.

Leaving the service of the Church in the Archdiocese of St. Louis is most sad for me. It has been an honor and gift for me to serve the archdiocese over the past four years and five months. It had been my hope to serve here for a long time, but, as the bishop who called me to priestly ordination often remarked, "Man proposes, but God disposes." I trust that doing what our Holy Father has asked me to do will bring blessings to the Archdiocese of St. Louis and to me.

St. Louis is a great archdiocese which will always have a treasured place in my heart.In a particular way, I am saddened to leave my fellow priests, whom I have so much grown to esteem and love. Often, I have spoken about the remarkable unity and loyalty of our presbyterate.

For me, it has been a special grace to work with them in the service of God's flock in the archdiocese. I thank them for the priestly fraternity which they have always shown me, and for the generous obedience with which they have responded to my pastoral care and governance of our beloved archdiocese.

With regard to the governance of the archdiocese, the College of Consultors will meet to elect an archdiocesan administrator who, with the help of the consultors, will govern the archdiocese, until the new archbishop is appointed and installed. Please pray for the College of Consultors and for the archdiocesan administrator whom they will elect.

Again, I ask your prayers. You can count upon my daily prayers for the Archdiocese of St. Louis, always.

For the Archdiocese of St. Louis and the Church in the United States this news is sad, but for the Universal Church it will be a great blessing. Archbishop Burke was one of the greatest leaders and defenders of the Faith in the United States which won for him great admiration by some (like myself) and sadly, many enemies as well.

I have known Archbishop Burke since he was Bishop of LaCrosse Wisconsin, but became more aquainted with him during my seminary studies in St. Louis, and most recently I was on a pilgrimage that he lead to the Holy Land. He has been, and hopefully will continute to be, a great source of encouragement for me and my priestly ministry.

Let us pray for this great man, that He will be able to faithfully carry out his duties in this new post.

UPDATE: You can also go the Archdiocesan Website to watch a video statement from the Archbishop.