Patriarch of the Chaldeans Elected

Iraqi Emil Shimoun Nona, 58, current Archbishop of Australia and New Zealand, has been elected Patriarch of the Chaldean Catholic Church. He took the name Paul III.

Nona succeeds Louis Raphaël I Sako, who had led the Church since 2013.

The election was announced on Sunday following a synod of Chaldean bishops held in Rome.

Born in Iraq, Nona led the Archdiocese of Mosul from 2010 until 2015. He left Mosul in 2014 when Islamic State (ISIS) took over and Christians were expelled. He later served as archbishop based in Sydney.

The patriarchate is traditionally based in Baghdad, but much of its life today is centered in diaspora communities across Europe, North America, and Australia.

The Chaldeans are an Eastern Catholic Church in communion with the Vatican and the largest Christian group in Iraq.

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