VATICAN CITY (LifeSiteNews) — Cardinal Raymond Burke has launched a prayer campaign for the newly elected Pope Leo XIV.
Shortly after the inaugural Mass of Leo XIV on May 18, Cardinal Burke issued forth a public prayer campaign for Catholics to pray for the American pope.
Burke has composed a short prayer, in which he calls for Leo to receive the graces necessary to fulfill his papal office of protecting and confirming the Catholic faith, and to be a “true Shepherd” of the Church today. (Full text below.)
The cardinal’s prayer campaign comes fresh on the heels of his widely popular nine-month novena to Our Lady of Guadalupe which ran from March through December last year. He proposed it as being in response to the “crises of our age,” highlighting the stark similarities between the ecclesiastical and global upheaval today and that experienced in 1531 – the year of Our Lady’s apparition in Guadalupe to St. Juan Diego.
Some 190,000 people joined in saying the daily novena prayer, as Burke himself revealed, with many more following along without formally registering.
Then during the conclave, Burke drew on this momentum to unite Catholics in prayer again as the cardinals gathered to elect a new successor of St. Peter. His conclave prayer campaign cited the “gravity of the situation” in order that “Cardinals in Conclave will humbly obey the promptings of the Holy Spirit & thus choose the most worthy man to fulfill the service of the Roman Pontiff, the Vicar of Christ on earth.”
Burke, aged 77, has emerged as one of the most influential figures in the American hierarchy, as attested to most recently by the international success of his Novena initiatives.
Formerly prefect of the Supreme Tribunal of the Apostolic Signatura under Pope Benedict XVI and Pope Francis, he was removed from that position by Francis in 2014 and assigned cardinal patron of the Order of Malta.
However, Burke was then replaced from that position also – in all but name – when Francis appeared to turn against him after Burke highlighted corruption within the Order.
A high-profile controversy erupted in late 2023, when Francis reportedly decided to evict Burke from his Vatican apartment in the latest move against the cardinal who the pope apparently described as an “enemy.”
Burke has often highlighted concerns about issues in the Church during the Francis pontificate but consistently rejected the notion that he was antagonistic towards the Pope. Instead, he regularly affirmed his fealty to the Pontiff, and explained his actions as being filial towards the Pontiff and having care also of the Church.
The full text of Cardinal Burke’s prayer for Pope Leo is below, and versions can be ordered or downloaded via his Shrine website.
Prayer for Pope Leo XIV
Vicar of Christ on Earth and Shepherd of the Universal Church
O Holy Virgin Mary, Mother of the Lord of Heaven and of Earth, Our Lady of Guadalupe, guide and protect the Roman Pontiff, Pope Leo XIV. Through your intercession, may he receive in abundance the grace of the Successor of Saint Peter: the perpetual and visible source and foundation of the unity of our Bishops and of all our brothers and sisters in the Mystical Body of your Divine Son. Unite Pope Leo’s heart to your Immaculate Heart, leading him to rest his heart ever more securely in the glorious-pierced Heart of Jesus, so that he may confirm us in the Catholic faith, in the worship of God in spirit and truth, and in a good and holy Christian life.
In the tumult of the present time, keep Pope Leo securely within the hollow of your mantle, in the crossing of your arms, protecting him from Satan, the Father of Lies, and from every evil spirit. Implore Our Lord to grant him, in particular, the wisdom and courage to be a true Shepherd of the Church throughout the world. With you, I place all my trust in Christ, the Good Shepherd, Who alone is our help and salvation. Amen.
Heart of Jesus, formed by the Holy Spirit in the womb of the Virgin Mother, have mercy upon us!
Our Lady of Guadalupe, Queen of the Apostles, pray for us!
Saints Peter and Paul, pray for us!
Pope Saint Leo the Great, pray for us!
Raymond Leo Cardinal BURKE
May 18, 2025.
