(OSV News) ─ In a rare Saturday session, the U.S. Senate voted to confirm Brian Burch, President Trump's nominee for U.S. ambassador to the Holy See, in a vote of 49-44 along party lines Aug. 2.
Burch, the former president of the pro-Trump political advocacy organization CatholicVote, was confirmed amid a day of voting on a slate of nominees after Democratic senators refused to reach a deal to advance Trump's backlog of executive branch nominees by unanimous consent or voice votes.
Burch's confirmation was previously blocked in May by Sen. Brian Schatz, D-Hawaii, who placed a blanket hold on all of Trump's nominees to the State Department due to his concern over the Trump administration's closure of the U.S. Agency for International Development.
The Vatican ambassador role is meant to represent the U.S. government's positions on many issues to the Holy See in its capacity as a nation-state in diplomatic efforts. Burch succeeds former Sen. Joe Donnelly, D-IN, who assumed the role in April 2022 and stepped down in July 2024.
Burch holds a degree in political philosophy from the University of Dallas. In 2005, he co-founded CatholicVote, an advocacy group that officially backed Trump's 2024 presidential bid, spending over $10 million to reach 2 million Catholics that year.
Burch posted on X just after the confirmation vote that he was "profoundly grateful to President Trump and the United States Senate for this opportunity to serve as the next U.S. Ambassador to the Holy See" and expressed gratitude for "the honor and privilege of serving in this role following the historic selection of the first American pope."
"In a remarkable coincidence, or what I prefer to attribute to Providence, Pope Leo XIV is from Chicago, which is also my hometown," he added. "The relationship between the Holy See and the United States remains one of the most unique in the world, with the global reach and moral witness of the Catholic Church serving as a critical component of U.S. efforts to bring about peace and prosperity."
He also asked "for the prayers of all Americans, especially my fellow Catholics, that I may serve honorably and faithfully in the noble adventure ahead."
In testimony before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee in April, Burch called the relationship between the U.S. and the Holy See "unique and vital" and pledged to deepen that bond.
"It transcends traditional diplomacy, rooted instead in our shared commitments to religious freedom, human dignity, global peace, and justice," he said at the time. "The Holy See, as the governing body of the Catholic Church, plays a critical and influential role in international affairs. We can and we must continue our strong partnership, while advancing our mutual interests in addressing an array of global challenges, including working to resolve war and conflict in multiple regions around the globe, religious persecution, the exploitation of the poor and vulnerable, the scourge of human trafficking, and the defense and promotion of human dignity and prosperity."
When announcing Burch's nomination, Trump posted on his social media website Truth Social that "Brian is a devout Catholic, a father of nine, and President of CatholicVote. He has received numerous awards, and demonstrated exceptional leadership, helping build one of the largest Catholic advocacy groups in the Country."
Current CatholicVote president Kelsey Reinhardt celebrated the news just following Burch's confirmation, posting on X "CatholicVote joyfully celebrates the confirmation of Brian Burch to serve as U.S. Ambassador to the Holy See, the governing body of the largest and most important religious institution in the world."
"For the past 17 years, Brian has faithfully championed CatholicVote's mission to inspire American Catholics to live their faith in public life," she wrote. "We are confident that he will similarly excel in this new role and are forever grateful for the foundation he laid and the impact he had on millions of Catholics across the Nation."
"CatholicVote cannot wait to see all that Ambassador Burch will accomplish in this new mission with Pope Leo XIV," she said. "Together, they will surely make Chicago and America proud. We are praying for his success through the intercession of St. Peter."
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Lauretta Brown is culture editor for OSV News. Follow her on X @LaurettaBrown6.
