On Sunday, Australia-based Bishop Emil Nona, who previously served as the Archbishop in Mosul, was elected Patriarch of the Chaldean Catholic Church, replacing Patriarch Louis Sako.

In a statement following Nona’s election, the Synod of Bishops of the Chaldean Church said that he has taken the name Patriarch Mar Paul III Nona.

“His Beatitude has declared his acceptance of the election in accordance with the requirements of canon law, expressing his reliance on the grace of God and his commitment to exercising his patriarchal ministry with fidelity and responsibility, in full communion with the Fathers of the Synod, and in service of the unity of the Chaldean Church and its mission in the homeland and in the diaspora,” the statement read.

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Chaldean Archbishop of Erbil Bashar Warda also welcomed Patriarch Nona’s appointment.“You are made of holiness ‘honesty, mercy, and purity of heart’ & will lead our Church as such,” Archbishop Warda said in a post on X.

On March 10, Cardinal Louis Sako suddenly announced that he would step down after serving as the head of the Chaldean Catholic Church for 13 years, adding that he would now dedicate himself to prayer, writing, and simple service.

Bishop Emil Nona was born in 1967 in Alqosh. He was ordained as a priest in 1991 and later earned a doctorate in theology from the Pontifical Lateran University in Rome. He served in various roles in Alqosh, including pastor and vicar general, and taught at Babel College in Erbil.

He became Archbishop of Mosul in 2010, serving until 2015, when he went into exile during the ISIS takeover. Since 2015, he has served as the Chaldean Bishop of Saint Thomas the Apostle in Sydney, Australia. He speaks Syriac, Arabic, Italian, and English.