(LifeSiteNews) — Incoming President Donald Trump has chosen CatholicVote founder Brian Burch to be his ambassador to the Holy See. Trump made the announcement Friday on Truth Social.
BREAKING: Donald Trump announced he has named @CatholicVote president Brian Burch as new ambassador to the Holy See.@realDonaldTrump praised Burch for being a devout Catholic & being a father of nine children, along with his advocacy record. pic.twitter.com/Cn0Yc7GtdQ
— Michael Haynes 🇻🇦 (@MLJHaynes) December 20, 2024
Describing Burch, a father of nine, as a “devout Catholic,” Trump praised him for having helped him win Catholic voters by a historic 56 percent-41 percent margin.
“He represented me well during the last Election, having garnered more Catholic votes than any presidential candidate in history!” Trump said. “Brian loves his Church and the United States — He will make us all proud.”
Founded in 2005, CatholicVote is perhaps the most influential Catholic advocacy group in the United States. It routinely exposes dissident Catholic politicians like Joe Biden while also running get-out-the-vote campaigns, among other admirable initiatives.
According to a blog published today on the website, Burch grew up in Phoenix, Arizona and attended Catholic schools his entire life. In 1997, he received a bachelor’s degree in political philosophy from the University of Dallas. He currently serves as the president of Seton Academy Catholic Montessori School in Villa Park, Illinois. He said he is “humbled” by the nomination.
I am deeply honored and humbled to have been nominated by President Trump to serve as the United States Ambassador to the Holy See. Words cannot express my gratitude to all those that have helped me achieve this nomination, most especially my wife Sara…
— Brian Burch (@BrianBurchCV) December 20, 2024
It was not until very late in the 2024 presidential campaign that the Trump team launched Catholics for Trump. That organization, which aided in his successful 2016 campaign as well, was led by political consultants Matt and Mercedes Schlaap. The group’s most tangible impact was its apparent influencing of Trump to post explicitly Catholic content on his social media account, like his wishing the Blessed Virgin Mary a “happy birthday” on September 8.
Happy Birthday Mary! pic.twitter.com/d1nwHWTk2b
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 9, 2024
Trump’s selection of Burch was heralded by CatholicVote vice president Josh Mercer. “This is an incredible honor and well deserved. Brian is a humble leader who loves his country and his faith. He will be an excellent ambassador to the Holy See,” Mercer said.
CatholicVote echoed Mercer’s remarks in its own X post.
CatholicVote is immensely proud that our founder and president, Brian Burch, was just nominated for Ambassador to the Holy See by President-Elect Donald J. Trump.
This nomination is a testament to the importance of Catholics to the United States.
Beyond his professional work,… pic.twitter.com/JIfBxmNKK3
— CatholicVote (@CatholicVote) December 20, 2024
Trump excoriated Democratic candidate Kamala Harris when she skipped the Al Smith Fundraising Dinner in New York City this fall. Trump, as well as event organizer Cardinal Timothy Dolan of the Archdiocese of New York, predicted that skipping the dinner was not a good idea and that it may result in Harris losing in a landslide, and that is precisely what happened. Trump had told Catholics at the dinner that they “better vote for him” because he could have chosen to be somewhere else like Harris was.
If confirmed by the Senate, Burch will be walking into what may be a dicey diplomatic situation as Pope Francis has not always had kind things to say about President Trump, whose previous Vatican ambassador was Calista Gingrich. Francis memorably implied Trump was “not Christian” during his 2016 run for the White House because he wanted to construct a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border. Several liberal U.S. bishops have already expressed concerns about his immigration policies.