Chaldean Patriarchate appoints Bishop Habib Hormuz Jajou to administer church affairs

BAGHDAD — The Chaldean Patriarchate announced Thursday the appointment of Bishop Habib Hormuz Jajou to administer the affairs of the Chaldean Church until a new patriarch is elected, following Cardinal Louis Raphael Sako’s resignation earlier this week.

The appointment was made under the laws of the Eastern Catholic Churches, which provide for the most senior bishop by ordination in the permanent Chaldean synod to manage church affairs during a patriarchal vacancy. Jajou holds that seniority.

Sako announced Tuesday that he had submitted his resignation to Pope Leo XIV voluntarily. “In full freedom, I decided to submit my resignation to His Holiness Pope Leo XIV so that I may quietly dedicate myself to prayer, writing and simple service. He accepted it,” Sako wrote. “To put an end to any speculation, I affirm that no one asked me to do this; rather, I requested the resignation of my own will.”

Sako’s tenure was marked by a prolonged dispute with Iraqi authorities. In July 2023, President Abdul Latif Rashid revoked a 2013 decree recognizing him as head of the Chaldean Church, prompting Sako to move 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 Chaldean Patriarchate canceled Easter celebrations in 2024 in protest. Prime Minister Mohammed Shia’ al-Sudani reinstated Sako in June 2024.