Our Church Leaders
Pope Francis
'O God, shepherd and ruler of all the faithful, look favorably on your servant Francis, whom you have set at the head of your Church as her shepherd; Grant, we pray, that by word and example he may be of service to those over whom he presides so that, together with the flock entrusted to his care, he may come to everlasting life. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.'
Cardinal Louis Raphaël Sako
His Beatitude Cardinal Louis Raphaël Sako of the Chaldeans was born in Zākhō, Iraq, on July 4, 1948. He completed his primary studies in Mosul, and then attended the local Saint Jean’s Seminary, held by the Dominican Fathers. He was ordained a priest on June 1, 1974, and carried out his pastoral service at the Cathedral of Mosul until 1979. He was sent to Rome, where he attended the Pontifical Oriental Institute, obtaining a doctorate in Eastern patrology. He subsequently obtained a doctorate in history from the Sorbonne in Paris. From 1997 to 2002 he held the office of rector of the Patriarchal Seminary in Baghdad. Upon returning to Mosul he guided the parish of Our Lady of Perpetual Help until his election as archbishop of Kerkūk on September 27, 2003. He received episcopal ordination on November 14, 2003. On January 31, 2013, during the Synod convened in Rome by Pope Benedict XVI after the resignation of the Patriarch His Beatitude Cardinal Delly, he was elected Patriarch, receiving the Ecclesiastical Communion from the same Supreme Pontiff on February 1, 2013. On July 14, 2018, the Holy Father Francis appointed him President Delegate of the XV Ordinary General Assembly on Young People, the Faith and Vocational Discernment (October 2018). He was created and proclaimed Cardinal by Pope Francis in the consistory of June 28, 2018. He is currently a member of the Dicastery for the Oriental Churches, Dicastery for Culture and Education, Dicastery for Inter-religious Dialogue and also a member of the Council for the Economy. In addition to Arabic and Chaldean, he knows German and speaks French, English and Italian. He has published books on the Church Fathers, and numerous articles.
Mar Robert Saeed Jarjis
His Excellency Mar Robert Saeed Jarjis, Eparch of the Chaldean Catholic Eparchy of Mar Addai in Canada, was born in Baghdad on October 10, 1973. He completed his primary studies in Baghdad and then attended the University of Baghdad where he obtained a master’s degree in Veterinary Medicine in 1999. After joining the Patriarchal Seminary in Baghdad, he was sent to Rome, where he attended the Pontifical University Urbaniana, and obtained a bachelor’s degree in Theology in 2007. He was ordained a priest on April 27, 2008 at St. Peter's Basilica by the laying on of hands of the late Pope Benedict XVI. After ordination he continued his studies and obtained a licentiate in Biblical Exegeses from the Pontifical Institute Biblicum in Rome. From 2011 to 2018 he served as a parish priest of Our Lady of the Assumption Parish in Baghdad. At the same time, he served as an active professor at the Babel College of Philosophy and Theology in Erbil, while also teaching many biblical and linguistic courses at many prestigious universities and institutes throughout Iraq. He received episcopal ordination on January 18, 2019 at St. Joseph Chaldean Catholic Cathedral in Baghdad. He served as an auxiliary bishop for the Chaldean Patriarchate in Baghdad till September of 2021 when he then was appointed Eparch of the Chaldean Catholic Eparchy of Mar Addai in Canada. Bishop Robert is also the founder of the UR Online Institute for Biblical and Ancient Language Studies which till today offers scripture studies in Arabic to lay people around the world. He is also an active member of the Middle Eastern Biblical Association, and sits on the Council of Caritas Iraq. Bishop Robert fluently speaks, reads and writes Arabic, Chaldean, Italian and English, and he also studied (and till today teaches) Biblical Hebrew and Koine Greek.
Monsignor Noel Farman
Monsignor Noel Farman was born in Zākhō, Iraq, on September 12, 1952. In 1965 he began his primary studies in Mosul, and attended the local Saint Jean’s Seminary, held by the Dominican Fathers. There he completed philosophical training, as well as some courses in theology before leaving the Seminary in 1972 due to being drafted to serve in the Iraqi Army. After which he continued his studies in Morocco where he studied Tourism and Travel Administration. He also later traveled to France where he studied advanced French Studies. From 1988- 1994 he worked as a journalist and employee for the Iraqi government and in this time served as a host to many diplomats visiting Iraq. On April 9, 1999 he was ordained a deacon at St. Joseph’s Cathedral in Baghdad by the late Patriarch Raphael Bidaweed. Afterwards he was offered the position of vice editor in chief for the popular Christian Iraqi magazine named Al Fikir Al Masseehi. At the same time, he also continued to write for the Hayatuna Al Liturgia which served as a liturgical magazine which was published monthly in Lebanon and was followed by many Arabic speaking clergy from around the world. In 2000 he began serving as a member of the International Catholic Union of the Press, and was later appointed regional vice president of its middle eastern sector. On December 29, 2004 he was ordained a priest at St. Ithalah Cathedral in Dohuk by the late Bishop Petros Hanna Harboli. He was then appointed associate pastor of St. Mary’s Parish in Zakho, Iraq. A year later he moved to Syria and was made pastor of St. Therese of the Child Jesus Parish in Damascus. In 2007 he arrived in Canada and was asked to minister to the Chaldean Catholic communities in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, and in Calgary, Alberta by His Excellency Bishop Ibrahim N. Ibrahim, Apostolic Visitor to the Chaldean Church in Canada. A year later he also received permission from His Excellency Bishop Frederick Henri, of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Calgary, to also minister to the French speaking parishioners of Sainte-Famille Catholic Parish. In October of 2018, at the request of His Eminence Cardinal Louis Sako, he began to serve as personal secretary to the Cardinal, and as well as press secretary to the Chaldean Church Patriarchate in Baghdad. On June 23, 2019 he was named a Monsignor by His Eminence Mar Louis Sako in thanksgiving for his year of service at the Patriarchate. A month later he returned to Calgary and was also appointed as Vicar of Education for the Diocese of Calgary by His Excellency Bishop William McGrattan.
Father John Jwad
Fr. John Jwad was born on May 7th, 1996 in Royal Oak, Michigan. After receiving his First Holy Communion he began to serve as an altar boy at his home parish of St. Thomas Chaldean Catholic Church in West Bloomfield, Michigan and there he was trained to read, write, chant and fluently speak Aramaic. From the age of 12 years old onwards he served as an active reader and chanter in many liturgical functions for many parishes in the eparchy. He completed his secondary education at Brother Rice High Catholic School in the spring of 2014 and studied at local colleges for two years. During this time, he also began to host daily radio shows for different Chaldean radio stations that were serving the large Chaldean community in Metro Detroit. In 2016 he entered Sacred Heart Major Seminary for the Eparchy of St. Thomas the Apostle in the USA and graduated with a B.A. in Philosophy in the spring of 2019. After graduation he was asked to serve in Lebanon for one year and there he continued formation at St. John the Beloved Maronite Seminary in Harissa. Shortly after his return from Lebanon he began theological studies at St. Philip’s Seminary for the Mar Addai Chaldean Catholic Eparchy in Canada. After three years of study he graduated in the spring of 2023 with a Master’s Degree in Theology. He was ordained a transitional deacon on May 20, 2023 and after was ordained to the priesthood at Holy Family Chaldean Church in Windsor by the laying on of hands of His Excellency Bishop Robert Saeed Jarjis on November 1, 2023. His first and current assignment is to serve the Chaldean Catholic community in Calgary (Alberta, Canada) while at the same time continuing his studies at the University of Calgary.
