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Raymond Leo Burke

Cardinal; former Prefect of the Supreme Tribunal of the Apostolic Signatura and former Archbishop of St. LouisAmerican cardinal and canonist, removed from the Vatican's top court in 2014, who is prominent in the Latin Mass movement; Leo XIV let him offer the old Mass in St. Peter's in 2025.

United StatesInstitute of Christ the King Sovereign Priest (ICKSP)Paix LiturgiqueNo analyses yet

About Raymond Leo Burke

Cardinal Raymond Leo Burke is an American prelate and canon lawyer prominent in the traditional Latin Mass movement. A native of Wisconsin, he was ordained a priest in 1975 and a bishop in 1995, led the Diocese of La Crosse, and was Archbishop of St. Louis from 2004 to 2008 (Catholic World Report/CNA). Benedict XVI made him prefect of the Apostolic Signatura, the Church's highest court, in 2008 and a cardinal in 2010; Francis removed him from the Signatura in 2014 and named him cardinal patron of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta (CWR/CNA; EWTN News; Order of Malta). Francis named Cardinal Gianfranco Ghirlanda to succeed him as patron in June 2023 (National Catholic Register). In November 2023, outlets citing people briefed on the decision reported that Francis was withdrawing his subsidised Vatican apartment and salary and had described him to Vatican department heads as a source of "disunity"; the Vatican made no formal announcement (America; CNA).

Public positions. Burke was one of four cardinals who in November 2016 made public their dubia on Amoris laetitia (National Catholic Register; see Amoris laetitia and Fiducia supplicans). In a letter dated 25 June 2019 he ended his association with the Dignitatis Humanae Institute, a group linked to Steve Bannon, writing that he did not think Frédéric Martel's book In the Closet of the Vatican should be made into a film, which Bannon had been promoting (Religion News Service).

Under Leo XIV. Leo received Burke in a private audience on 22 August 2025 (Catholic Herald; The Catholic Thing). According to Paix Liturgique founder Christian Marquant, Burke used it to deliver a letter from some 70 traditionalist groups; on 25 October 2025 he celebrated the older Mass at the Altar of the Chair in St. Peter's Basilica for the Ad Petri Sedem pilgrimage with the Pope's permission (AP via NCR; America). On 25 May 2026 he celebrated the closing Mass of the Chartres pilgrimage, urging pilgrims, as InfoVaticana reported, not to yield to discouragement or despair (America/OSV News; InfoVaticana). The Remnant reported that he ordained priests for the Institute of Christ the King at Gricigliano that summer (The Remnant), and in August InfoVaticana reported a message from him urging the faithful not to abandon the defence of the traditional Mass (InfoVaticana).

On the timeline

Full timeline

Dated events, newest first.

  1. Cardinal Burke closes 2026 Chartres pilgrimage of about 20,000

    Cardinal Raymond Burke celebrated the closing Mass of the 44th Paris–Chartres pilgrimage; organisers had stressed unity with Leo XIV amid the SSPX crisis, and reports put attendance at a record of nearly or just over 20,000.

    3 sources

    Chartres pilgrimage for Latin Mass devotees grows as organizers warn against… (America (OSV News))France's traditionalist Catholics rally behind Pope Leo XIV after SSPX schism (Detroit Catholic (OSV News))Twenty thousand pilgrims in Chartres: the unstoppable missionary force of the… (InfoVaticana)

  2. Leo XIV lets Cardinal Burke celebrate the traditional Mass in St. Peter's

    Leo XIV personally granted Cardinal Raymond Burke permission to celebrate Mass in the older form in St. Peter's Basilica, at the Altar of the Chair, for the annual Ad Petri Sedem (Summorum Pontificum) pilgrimage on 25 October 2025.

    3 sources

    Nuncio in Britain says pope won't overturn restrictions on old Latin Mass (Catholic News Service (USCCB))Pope Leo XIV Authorizes Traditional Latin Mass in St. Peter's Square (The Tablet (Diocese of Brooklyn))US Cardinal Burke celebrates old Latin Mass in St. Peter's in a sign of change (National Catholic Reporter (AP))

  3. Leo XIV receives Cardinal Raymond Burke in private audience

    The Holy See confirmed the audience without describing its content. Christian Marquant of Paix Liturgique later said Burke used it to deliver a letter from some 70 traditionalist groups asking for a traditional Mass in St. Peter's; Leo…

    3 sources

    Cardinal Burke received in audience by Pope Leo XIV (Catholic Herald)Cardinal Burke has a private audience with Leo XIV (The Catholic Thing)US Cardinal Burke celebrates old Latin Mass in St. Peter's in a sign of change (National Catholic Reporter (AP))

  4. Cardinal Burke distances himself from the Bannon-linked Dignitatis Humanae Institute

    In a letter dated 25 June 2019, Cardinal Raymond Burke ended his association with the Dignitatis Humanae Institute, writing that he did not think Frédéric Martel's book In the Closet of the Vatican should be made into a film. Steve Bannon…

    SourcesEpstein files reveal ties to Catholic conservatives' anti-Francis campaign (Religion News Service)Steve Bannon courted Epstein in his efforts to 'take down' Pope Francis (CNN)

  5. Four cardinals publish their dubia on Amoris laetitia

    Cardinals Walter Brandmüller, Raymond Burke, Carlo Caffarra and Joachim Meisner made public five yes-or-no questions (dubia) on Amoris laetitia that they had sent to Pope Francis and to Cardinal Gerhard Müller on 19 September 2016. The…

    SourcesFour Cardinals Formally Ask Pope for Clarity on 'Amoris Laetitia' (National Catholic Register)Dubia cardinals seek papal audience (National Catholic Register)

Sources for this profile

  1. Here are 5 things to know about Cardinal Burke — Catholic World Report (CNA), Dec 6, 2023
  2. [Cardinal Burke moved to Order of Malta, Mamberti to lead Signatura] (title reconstructed) — EWTN News (CNA)
  3. Pope Francis appoints Raymond Leo Burke Cardinalis Patronus of the Sovereign Order of Malta — Sovereign Military Order of Malta
  4. Pope Francis Names Cardinal Ghirlanda to Succeed Cardinal Burke as Order of Malta Patron — National Catholic Register (CNA)
  5. Pope Francis punishes Cardinal Burke, revokes Vatican apartment and salary — America, Nov 28, 2023
  6. Pope Francis reportedly takes Vatican apartment, salary from Cardinal Burke — Catholic News Agency
  7. Four Cardinals Formally Ask Pope for Clarity on 'Amoris Laetitia' — National Catholic Register, Nov 14, 2016
  8. Cardinal Burke received in audience by Pope Leo XIV — Catholic Herald
  9. Cardinal Burke has a private audience with Leo XIV — The Catholic Thing, Aug 25, 2025
  10. US Cardinal Burke celebrates old Latin Mass in St. Peter's in a sign of change — National Catholic Reporter (AP)
  11. Analysis: Why is Pope Leo letting Cardinal Burke say the Latin Mass at the Vatican? — America, Oct 24, 2025
  12. Chartres pilgrimage for Latin Mass devotees grows as organizers warn against renewed divisions — America (OSV News), May 21, 2026
  13. Burke à Chartres : « Nous ne cédons ni au découragement ni au désespoir » — InfoVaticana, May 26, 2026
  14. Cardinal Burke Ordains Four Priests as Institute of Christ the King Defies Predictions of Decline — The Remnant
  15. Burke asks the faithful not to abandon the defense of the traditional Mass — InfoVaticana, Aug 16, 2026
  16. Epstein files reveal ties to Catholic conservatives' anti-Francis campaign — Religion News Service, Feb 11, 2026

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