Rumor: Abp. Burke's St. Louis replacement

(And before we get started, do note that the current apostolic administrator of St. Louis is not being idle.)

Whispers has the scoop:

Over recent weeks, three independent sources in divergent locales have indicated a surprise front-runner for the vacant archbishopric of St Louis: Bishop Salvatore Matano of Burlington.

A native of Providence ordained to lead Vermont's statewide diocese of 150,000 in 2005, the 62 year-old prelate was a Roman classmate and remains a close friend of the prior head of the 550,000-member Gateway City church, Archbishop Raymond Burke, now the prefect of the Apostolic Signatura, the Holy See's highest court. A product of the North American College and the Gregorian, he was ordained a priest at the Vatican in 1971.

... While it's of prime importance to remember that, as always, nothing is assured until the file makes its way through the standard trail of the Congregation for Bishops and the papal apartment, the sudden emergence of the New Englander's name atop a wide swath of the trans-continental buzzmill implies two things: first, that the process leading to a St Louis appointment has been fast-tracked and, second, that in keeping with Benedict's precedent for the three other diocesan bishops he's called to lead Curial dicasteries, Burke will likely have, at the very least, a strong say in the selection of his replacement.

[More.]

Running second in the rumor mill? Auxiliary Bishop Salvatore Cordileone of San Diego.

Although I really hope Bp. Cordileone gets promoted within California. He is needed.

Have you heard anything about Bp. Matano?