Archbishop Burke

Imagine the news that a prominent lawyer would be leaving St. Louis to become chief justice of the US Supreme Court. That would be cause for a public expression of civic pride.

This morning, we learned something even more remarkable: St. Louis’s Archbishop Raymond Burke has been selected to lead the Vatican’s Apostolic Signatura, the highest judicial authority of the Catholic Church.

I don’t think St. Louis can take much credit for Archbishop Burke’s accomplishments as a canon lawyer, though I can think of a few instances in which we might have tested his resolve. Still, I hope that he will think back fondly of life in the Central West End, a magnificent cathedral, and a taste for a kind of ravioli that he is unlikely to find anywhere in Rome.

I look forward to having the chance to say goodbye to him in person.