The new U.S. ambassador to the Holy See, Brian Francis Burch, presented his credentials to Pope Leo XIV this morning, Sept. 13, during a private audience in the library of the Apostolic Palace, the Vatican confirmed.

The 50-year-old ambassador, wearing a black tailcoat, met the pope with his wife, Sara, their nine children, as well as a daughter-in-law and granddaughter. In a personal touch to the otherwise formal ceremony, the Burch family also brought a chocolate cake topped with a metallic red sign reading “Happy Birthday Pope Leo XIV” and homemade cards for the pope’s 70th birthday, apparently crafted by some of the ambassador’s children.

The press office of the U.S. embassy to the Holy See described the ceremony as “an important milestone in the continuing diplomatic relationship between the United States and the Holy See.” The Vatican and the U.S. government established full diplomatic relations on Jan. 10, 1984.

The United States has been without an ambassador to the Holy See since July 8, 2024, when Joe Donnelly resigned his post to return to the United States, after serving as ambassador since February 2022. Brian Burch succeeds him.

Mr. Burch was nominated U.S. ambassador to the Holy See by President Trump in December 2024 and confirmed by the U.S. Senate on Aug. 2, 2025. Even before taking office, President Trump announced on Truth Social that he intended to nominate Burch, describing him as “a devout Catholic, a father of nine, and president of CatholicVote” who had shown “exceptional leadership” and “represented me well during the last election, having garnered more Catholic votes than any presidential candidate in history.”

Born in Phoenix, Arizona, on July 7, 1975, Mr. Burch earned a B.A. in political philosophy from the University of Dallas in Irving, Texas where he studied from 1993 to 1997.

Before his appointment as ambassador, Mr. Burch combined business experience with nonprofit leadership and Catholic civic engagement. He held roles in account management and business development at companies including Aerotek, Nextwave Technology and Technisource in Illinois and served as director of development at Thomas More Law Center in Michigan as well as a part-time partner at Verve Mail in Nevada. He also participated in the Mitt Romney presidential campaign in 2012 and served as president of the council of Seton Academy Montessori School in Illinois.

In 2005 he co-founded CatholicVote, serving as its president and executive director for two decades. The organization says it “fulfills its mission by educating and mobilizing lay Catholics, including direct engagement in political, legislative and judicial advocacy,” aiming to inspire Catholics in the United States to participate actively in public life.

Mr. Burch has authored several books on Catholic political life, including A New Catholic Moment: Donald Trump and the Politics of the Common Good (2020) and For God, Country and Sanity: How Catholics Can Save America (2024), and co-authored the American Catholic Daily Reader. He has been featured on national media outlets such as Fox News, Newsmax, New Nation, BlazeTV and NPR, and has been covered in publications including The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Washington Times, The Wall Street Journal, Catholic News Agency and National Catholic Register.

His contributions have earned him recognition within Catholic civic circles, including the Cardinal O’Connor Defender of the Faith Award from Legatus International in 2018 and the St. Thomas More Award for Catholic Citizenship by Catholic Citizens of Illinois in 2019.

With additional reporting from Catholic News Service

Gerard O’Connell is America’s senior Vatican correspondent and author of The Election of Pope Francis: An Inside Story of the Conclave That Changed History. He has been covering the Vatican since 1985.