Pope Accepts Resignation of 85-Year-Old Chaldean Catholic Patriarch Emmanuel III Delly

On Dec. 19, 2012, Pope Benedict XVI accepted the resignation of Cardinal Emmanuel III Delly, head of the Chaldean Catholic Church, and called the Chaldean bishops to Rome for a synod to elect his successor. The 85-year-old resigned for age and health reasons, according to the Italian newspaper La Stampa.

Cardinal Delly, Patriarch of Babylon of the Chaldeans, was elected Chaldean patriarch on Dec. 3, 2003. Pope Benedict XVI made him a cardinal in November 2007. His see is based in Baghdad. Pope Benedict has appointed Archbishop Jacques Ishaq as administrator of the Chaldean Church until the next patriarch is elected.

Patriarch Emmanuel led Chaldean Catholics at a time when Iraqi Christians suffered from bombings, kidnappings and murders due to a lack of security. Archbishop Paulos Faraj Rahho and three companions were abducted in February 2008 and subsequently murdered. In 2007, Pope Benedict said his choice of Patriarch Emmanuel as a cardinal showed his “spiritual closeness and affection” for Iraq’s Christians, Vatican Radio reported.

The Chaldean bishops oversee a Church of more than 1.5 million members in Iraq, Iran, Turkey, Syria, Lebanon, Egypt, Australia, Canada, the U.S. and Europe. Chaldeans are the most numerous Christian group in Iraq, with eight dioceses, 100 parishes and about 500,000 faithful, according to the Catholic Near East Welfare Association. However, Iraqi Chaldean numbers have fallen drastically since the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq in 2003.

The Chaldean bishops’ synod will take place Jan. 28, 2013, under the leadership of Cardinal Leonardo Sandri, prefect of the Congregation for Oriental Churches. On Dec. 14, Cardinal Sandri presided at the Mass that consecrated the restored Syro-Catholic Cathedral of Our Lady of Perpetual Help in Baghdad. The cathedral was the site of a deadly terrorist attack on Oct. 31, 2010, that killed two priests and 50 other faithful. Cardinal Sandri praised the “honorable sacrifices” that allowed the cathedral to reopen and said God “encourages Eastern Christians, and especially those of Iraq, to communion and testimony,” a call to unity in the faith (John 17:21).

The Chaldean Catholic Church has been in unbroken communion with the Roman Catholic Church since the early 19th century and uses Syriac as a liturgical language. It has two U.S. dioceses: the Southfield, Mich.-based Eparchy of St. Thomas the Apostle of the Chaldeans, headed by Bishop Ibrahim Ibrahim, and the Eparchy of St. Peter the Apostle of the Chaldeans in San Diego, headed by Bishop Sarhad Jammo.

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