Zaidi visits new Chaldean patriarch, calls on Iraqi Christian diaspora to return

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Photo by Chaldean Patriarchate

Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi visited the Chaldean Patriarchate in Baghdad’s Mansour district on Tuesday to congratulate Mar Paulos III Nona on assuming leadership of the Chaldean Catholic Church following his receipt of ecclesiastical communion from the Pope.

Zaidi said his government is committed to “working with all parties to sustain the national fabric of Iraq,” describing Christians as “an authentic component of the Iraqi people,” and called on Christian business people living abroad to return and contribute to economic and reconstruction projects.

Iraq’s Christian population has declined sharply over the past two decades due to conflict, displacement and economic hardship, with many settling in Europe, North America and neighboring countries.

Mar Paulos III Nona was appointed patriarch following Cardinal Louis Raphael Sako’s resignation in March, ending 13 years leading one of Iraq’s most prominent Christian institutions.
Sako’s tenure was marked by a prolonged dispute with Iraqi authorities — President Abdul Latif Rashid revoked a 2013 decree recognizing him as head of the church in July 2023, prompting Sako to relocate from Baghdad to Erbil in protest. The Federal Supreme Court upheld the decision in November 2023, drawing criticism from Iraqi Christians and the Vatican.

The Patriarchate canceled Easter celebrations in 2024 in protest before Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani reinstated Sako in June 2024.
Sako said he submitted his resignation voluntarily in March 2026 “to quietly dedicate myself to prayer, writing and simple service.”