President-elect Donald Trump appointed Brian Burch, the president of one of the country’s largest Catholic advocacy groups, as Ambassador ...
President-elect Donald Trump appointed Brian Burch, the president of one of the country’s largest Catholic advocacy groups, as Ambassador to the Holy See on Friday.
“Brian is a devout Catholic, a father of nine, and President of CatholicVote,” Trump posted Friday on Truth Social.
“He represented me well during the last Election, having garnered more Catholic votes than any Presidential Candidate in History! Brian loves his Church and the United States — He will make us all proud. Congratulations to Brian, his wife Sara, and their incredible family!” Trump said.
Burch responded in a statement expressing his gratitude.
“I am deeply honored and humbled to have been nominated by President Trump to serve as the United States Ambassador to the Holy See,” Burch wrote in a statement posted to X. “Words cannot express my gratitude to all those that have helped me achieve this nomination, most especially my wife Sara, my 9 beautiful children, my CV team, and all those who supported me in this journey. I am especially grateful to my father, who passed to eternal life this past June, who taught me to love the Church and the blessings and responsibilities of being a citizen of the U.S.”
Burch emphasized the importance of the Catholic Church’s role in the world and promised to “promote the dignity of all people.”
“The role of Ambassador is to represent the government of the United States in its relations with the Holy See. The Catholic Church is the largest and most important religious institution in the world, and its relationship to the United States is of vital importance,” Burch said.
“I am committed to working with leaders inside the Vatican and the new Administration to promote the dignity of all people and the common good. I look forward to the confirmation process and the opportunity to continue to serve my country and the Church. To God be the glory,” he said.
Burch’s conservative lobbying group, CatholicVote, says its mission is to “inspire every Catholic in America to live out the truths of our faith in public life.”
CatholicVote’s political action committee spent more than a million dollars this election cycle and endorsed Trump in January during the primaries.
“I know many Catholics are divided over whether Trump is the best candidate to defeat Biden. But that’s also what primaries are for,” Burch said at the time.
Trump thanked CatholicVote for endorsing him the same day during a speech in New Hampshire, where he also spoke about the FBI’s targetingof Catholics.
“I don’t know what it is with Catholics but the FBI is going after Catholics,” Trump said. “Why would any Catholic vote for a Democrat?”
The embassy to the Holy See was first established in 1984 between President Ronald Reagan and Pope John Paul II.