Archbishop Raymond L. Burke formally said goodbye Aug. 17 to the Catholics he has shepherded for the past four years, reminding them of the glorious history of the St. Louis Archdiocese while encouraging them to remain strong in proclaiming their faith against the modern world’s challenges.Before giving the final blessing of the Mass, the archbishop said "I love you all" to those who filled every pew of the 1,300-seat St. Louis Cathedral Basilica.
He then fought back emotion for a moment and added, "I will never cease to pray for you. Please do not forget me in your prayers."
Archbishop Burke leaves St. Louis this week to become the prefect of the Supreme Tribunal of the Apostolic Signatura, the Vatican’s highest court. He was installed as St. Louis’ eighth archbishop in January 2004.
Eight bishops, including current and recently retired ones of Missouri’s other three dioceses, more than 80 priests of the archdiocese, more than 40 archdiocesan deacons, dozens of seminarians from Kenrick-Glennon Seminary, 40-plus members of Knights of Columbus councils and nearly 70 laymen and women of the Knights of the Holy Sepulchre organization formed the procession that led Archbishop Burke to and from the altar for the two-hour Mass.
The audience erupted into spontaneous applause for him on three occasions, lasting more than a minute each time: at the end of his homily; during his final remarks as he said he was proud he had been named by the Vatican’s secretary of state as archbishop emeritus of St. Louis; and during the recessional as flashes on hand-held cameras from the pews illuminated his final walk down the cathedral basilica’s middle aisle.
In his homily, the archbishop first drew on the themes from the three readings and responsorial psalm of the Mass (Isaiah 56:1, 6-7; Psalm 67; Romans 11:13-15, 29-32; and Matthew 15:21-28). He noted that Christ tests the Samaritan woman’s faith before healing her daughter, an action that shows "God’s love for us knows no boundaries." He also noted that the other two readings display "Gods’ desire to save all nations."
The archbishop then glided into a summary of the "deep roots of faith in the archdiocese": its base in family life, its nurturing through Catholic schools and its expression through worship and charity.
After the Mass, the archbishop spent nearly four hours greeting people in nearby Boland Hall.
Those who patiently waited their turn sounded a common theme in assessing his time in St. Louis.
They thought he had been courageous in consistently standing up for the principles of the Catholic faith while showing warmth and kindness in personally meeting with people.
"I admire the courage of the archbishop. He followed what he saw as God’s call for him," said Leon Henderson, president of the board for Cardinal Ritter College Preparatory High School.
"I like what he did for St. Louis," said Bob Flannigan of St. Clare of Assisi Parish, who was with his wife, Denice, and their three children. "He fixed a lot of things that needed to be straightened out, like the St. Stanislaus situation," he added, referring to the archbishop’s battle with the Polish Roman Catholic Church over its parish governance.
Bob Cutchens of the St. Louis Cathedral Basilica Parish said Archbishop Burke "was not an accommodationist" and added, "I particularly admired his stance on pro-life politicians. It took real guts to stand up to them," meaning Catholic legislators who didn’t oppose abortion.
Linda and Mark Bromeier of Sacred Heart Parish in Eureka were there with three of their seven children, one of whom was confirmed by Archbishop Burke. They said they were particularly impressed with the warmth the archbishop showed to the individuals he met with. Linda Bromeier said she thought that faith had been moulded by the archbishop’s upbringing on a farm in Wisconsin.
"He’s a down-home kind of person," she said, adding that she thought the secular media had distorted the impression most people had of him.
"He was a man of conviction," said John Kelly, who with his wife, Lynne, and four children were there to say goodbye.
"He guided the Church in a true direction." +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
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