The Most Reverend Raymond Burke

Eighth Bishop of La Crosse

Raymond L. Burke was born on June 30, 1948 to Marie and Thomas Burke in Richland Center, Wisconsin. He attended parish schools in Richland Center and Stratford for his early education. His high school and college years were spent at the Holy Crosse Seminary in La Crosse until 1968 at which time he attended the Catholic University of America where he completed his BA and MA degrees in philosophy. In 1971 he studied theology at the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome. He was ordained on June 29, 1975, by Pope Paul VI in St. Peter Basilica.

After ordination he was assigned to St. Joseph the Workman Cathedral parish and taught at Aquinas High School in La Crosse. In 1980 he returned to the Gregorian University and earned his licentiate and a doctorate in Canon Law in 1984. He was named as the first American Defender of the Bond of the Supreme Tribunal of the Apostolic Signatura in 1989. On December 10, 1994 he was appointed as bishop-elect of the La Crosse Diocese, was consecrated to the episcopate on January 6, 1995 in St. Peter Basilica, Rome and was installed as the eighth bishop of the Diocesse of La Crosse on February 22, 1995. During his tenure as bishop, he convened the Fifth Synod, oversaw the building of the Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe. On December 2, 2003 he was named as Archbishop of St. Louis and installed on January 26, 2004. In July 2006 he was appointed as a member of the Supreme Tribunal and on June 27, 2008 he was named Prefect of the Apostolic Signatura of the Supreme Tribunal. On November 20, 2010, Pope Benedict XVI elevated him to the cardinalate, Raymond Leo Cardinal Burke.

The shield of Bishop Burke’s coat of arms is that of the De Burgo or DeBurgh family crest, his ancestors who settled in Ireland in the 12 century. Legend has it that Richard the Lionhearted gave the arms to a DeBurgo ancestor in recognition of his bravery in fighting the Saracens during the Crusades. The red cross was carried by the crusaders into battle. The gold field on which the cross rests is symbolic of generosity. The red cross is a sign of fortitude and refers to the cross of Christ from which alone comes salvation. The rampant lion, black in color, symbolizes courage and constancy. His motto is taken from an invocation in a book given to him upon the occasion of his ordination by Pope Paul VI. O bone Jesu, fac ut sim sacerdo secundum Cor Tuum, O good Jesus, make me a priest after Your own Heart.