On June 27, the Vatican named Archbishop Raymond Burke as prefect of the Apostolic Signatura, the Vatican’s equivalent of the Supreme Court, ending his four-year tenure as archbishopship of the Archdiocese of St. Louis.

He will begin his new position in Rome at the end of August.

Burke is known publicly for his staunch support of the Catholic anti-abortion policy, as well as other church traditions.

A few examples of such issues include his resignation from the Cardinal Glennon Board of Directors, after they featured Sheryl Crow-an abortion rights supporter-at a benefit concert. His public statement claiming he would refuse Communion to politicians who actively vote for abortion rights and his call for the termination of Saint Louis University’s Head Basketball Coach Rick Majerus after Majerus released an abortion rights statement.

While Burke’s tenure has affected SLU with regards to his conflict with Majerus, he has also affected the university in other ways.

According to Director of C mapus Ministry Lisa Reiter, “the archbishop’s role . with Catholic students at SLU is about insuring that they have access to the sacraments.”

When discussing the transition to a new archbishop, Reiter refers back to the transition from former Archbishop Justin Rigali to Burke: “There wasn’t a blip. [SLU’s Catholic identity is] probably manifested more in the overall church.”

However, as a Catholic university in the Archdiocese of St. Louis, there will certainly be some changes-albeit more with the Catholic community as a whole, rather than the university.

There will be a farewell Mass at 2:30 p.m. on Aug. 17 at the Cathedral Basilica of St. Louis, on Lindel Blvd. with a reception in his honor to follow.