Cardinal Raymond Burke, one of the Vatican’s most outspoken critics of Pope Francis’ efforts to liberalize the Catholic Church, offered his first public Mass since being hospitalized with COVID-19.
During the Mass at the Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe in La Crosse, Wisconsin, on Saturday, Burke thanked God and the shrine's namesake for his recovery.
"My heart is filled with deepest gratitude to almighty God who from Aug. 10 last has brought me through a great suffering, which seemingly would've ended in death," said the 73-year-old Burke, who had been placed on a ventilator after being hospitalized in August.
"I also thank Our Lady of Guadalupe, the virgin mother of God, and St. Joseph, her true and most chaste spouse, and the company of saints who interceded so powerfully for me during my time of trial.
"When I regained consciousness after spending nine critical days on a ventilator, I was filled with the knowledge that Our Lady of Guadalupe had been constantly holding me in her arms and keeping me, one in heart, with the glorious pierced heart of her divine Son, the most Sacred Heart of Jesus."
The conservative Burke celebrated the Traditional Latin Mass for the Third Sunday of Advent.
He also thanked the rector and staff at St. Mary’s Oratory in Wausau, Wisconsin, where he spent three months in rehabilitation following his hospitalization.
"May God abundantly reward all who have assisted me, and continue to assist me, so that I may fully return to the active service of our Lord and of his mystical body, the Church," Burke said.
In a pre-Mass message, Burke said his health had improved but not enough to return to his usual pastoral activities. He added his rehab will continue for the foreseeable future.
"Clearly, if our Lord has kept me in life, he desires me to be ever more faithful, generous, and pure in working with him for the salvation of souls," Burke said during his homily.
"I want to help pilgrims to the shrine to have the fullest encounter possible with our Lord— an encounter which will sustain them as they return to their homes, work and other activities."
Burke on Dec. 1 tweeted that he would be able to say Mass.
"Praised be Jesus Christ! My health has improved enough for me to return to the Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe in La Crosse, Wisconsin, to offer my first public Mass since my hospitalization," he tweeted.
Burke served as bishop in the Diocese of La Crosse in Wisconsin before becoming archbishop in St. Louis. He left St. Louis in 2008 to oversee the Vatican’s supreme court, becoming the first American to hold that position.
Pope Francis moved Burke out of the Vatican court in 2014 after Burke said the church was like a ship with no rudder.
Material from The Associated Press was used in preparing this report.
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