Raymond Leo Burke was born in Richland Center, Wisconsin,^[1] the youngest of the six children of Thomas (d. July 21, 1956) and Marie (d. February 29, 1996) Burke. Baptized on the following July 11, he received his first Communion on May 13, 1956. The family later moved to Stratford, where Burke was confirmed by Bishop John P. Treacy on April 5, 1962. From 1962 to 1968 he attended the Holy Cross Seminary in La Crosse, Wisconsin. From 1968 to 1971 Burke studied at The Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C.as a Basselin scholar and received the degrees Bachelor of Arts (1970) and Master of Arts (1971), both in Philosophy. He is now a member of the Board of Trustees of that university. He then completed his studies for the priesthood at the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome from 1971 to 1975, where he received the degrees Bachelor of Sacred Theology (1974) and Master of Arts (1975).^[1]Pope Paul VI ordained Burke to the priesthood on June 29, 1975, at Saint Peter’s Basilica.^[1] It was announced on 20 October 2010 that Pope Benedict XVI would elevate the Archbishop to a Cardinal at the consistory to be held 20 November 2010. (taken from Widipedia)

Archbishop Burke has been a long time hero of mine.  I had the pleasure of meeting the Archbishop during a vacation to Italy with my parents in September of 2008.  We had gone to dinner at a great restaurant close to the Vatican.  I went over to the Archbishop to introduce myself and was touched by his humility and kindness.

My prayers and congratulations go out to Raymond Cardinal Burke – ad multos annos your Eminence!