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MADISON, Wisconsin, EE.UU. / AP
Cardinal Raymond Burke, a vaccine skeptic, reported that he contracted COVID-19, and his staff noted that he is breathing with the help of a ventilator.
Burke tweeted on August 10 that he had contracted the coronavirus, was resting comfortably, and was receiving excellent medical care.
“Pray for me as I begin my recovery,” wrote the 73-year-old cardinal. “Let us trust in Divine Providence. God bless you”.
On Saturday, his staff tweeted that he had been hospitalized and on a ventilator, but that doctors were encouraged by his progress.
His eminence “faithfully prayed the Rosary for those who are suffering from the virus … Let us now pray the Rosary for him,” said his staff.
In May 2020, the cardinal spoke out against mandatory vaccination, saying that some in society wanted to implant microchips in people.
In March 2020, he had said that the best weapon to combat “the evil of the coronavirus” was the relationship with Jesus Christ.
The Washington Post and the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported that Burke contracted the virus during a visit to Wisconsin and is hospitalized there. Burke was born in Richland Center, in southwestern Wisconsin, and served as a bishop in the Diocese of La Crosse from 1995 to 2004.
In recent weeks, COVID-19 cases have been on the rise in Wisconsin, driven largely by the delta variant. The seven-day average of cases in the state was 1,139 as of Wednesday, the highest number since February.
The Diocese of La Crosse referred questions Monday about Burke’s location and condition to the Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe, which was founded by Burke in the city. A message sent there had not been answered so far.
A spokesman for the Wisconsin Hospital Association said it had no information on the cardinal. Vatican media officials have not responded to an email.
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