Cardinal Burke Marks Golden Jubilee With Prayer for Pope Leo XIV

When, on June 29, 1975, I received the grace of ordination to the Holy Priesthood through the laying on of hands and the prayer of consecration of the Supreme Pontiff, His Holiness Pope St. Paul VI, I was profoundly aware of the sublime gift with its corresponding solemn duty — the indelible mark on my soul — thus entrusted to me: to act in the very Person of Christ, the Eternal High Priest, Head and Shepherd of the Church, at every time and in every place. The reverence and paternal devotion with which the Roman Pontiff ordained the 359 deacons assembled that day remain indelibly impressed upon my soul. Each passing year deepens my gratitude to Our Lord for the ineffable grace of the priestly vocation and the priestly mission conferred upon me through ordination by the Vicar of Christ on earth.

As I give glory to God for the ineffable grace of the priestly vocation, ordination and mission, I am mindful of the grave moment in which the Church finds herself today.  …