Senate Confirms Leading Catholic Activist As Vatican Ambassador

President Donald Trump’s new ambassador to the Holy See was confirmed over the weekend.

Brian Burch, former president of CatholicVote, one of the country’s largest Catholic advocacy groups, was confirmed by the Senate as the United States ambassador to the Vatican on Saturday.

The Senate voted 49-44 along party lines.

“The Catholic Church is the largest and most important religious institution in the world, and its relationship to the United States is of vital importance,” Burch said in a statement on Saturday.

“I am committed to working with leaders inside the Vatican and the Trump administration to promote the dignity of all people and the common good,” he said.

“Brian is a devout Catholic, a father of nine, and President of CatholicVote,” Trump said in December when he nominated Burch.

“He represented me well during the last Election, having garnered more Catholic votes than any Presidential Candidate in History! Brian loves his Church and the United States — He will make us all proud. Congratulations to Brian, his wife Sara, and their incredible family!” Trump said.

During election season, Burch led the conservative lobbying group, CatholicVote, whose political action committee spent more than a million dollars over the 2024 election cycle and endorsed Trump in January during the primaries.

“I know many Catholics are divided over whether Trump is the best candidate to defeat Biden. But that’s also what primaries are for,” Burch said at the time.

Trump thanked CatholicVote for endorsing him later that day during a speech in New Hampshire, where he also spoke about the FBI’s targeting of Catholics.

“I don’t know what it is with Catholics but the FBI is going after Catholics,” Trump said. “Why would any Catholic vote for a Democrat?”

Burch fleshed out his vision for his diplomatic role in a statement in April to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

He said the relationship between the United States and the Vatican “transcends traditional diplomacy, rooted instead in our shared commitments to religious freedom, human dignity, global peace, and justice.”

“My primary goal will be to deepen this partnership. The moral witness of the Holy See together with its global influence make it a key partner for an array of U.S. interests. I am confident we can contribute to a more just and peaceful world, reflecting the best of American values and the Holy See’s mission,” Burch said at the time.

The embassy to the Holy See was first established in 1984 between President Ronald Reagan and Pope John Paul II.