Pope grants ecclesiastical communion to Chaldean Patriarch

Patriarch Polis III Nona

Source: Vatican Media

Following a request from His Beatitude Patriarch Polis III Nona, Pope Leo XIV has agreed to grant ecclesiastical communion, "an expression and bond of full communion with the Apostolic See, in common service to unity in the Church and the building up of the Body of Christ."

"It is with a heart full of joy that I grant you Ecclesiastical Communion," Pope Leo wrote in a letter addressed to the Patriarch of Baghdad of the Chaldeans, Polis III Nona, and made public yesterday, April 28, by the Holy See Press Office.

The Patriarch was canonically elected on April 12, 2026, by the Synod of Bishops of his sui iuris Church, which had gathered in Rome.

Patriarch Nona had previously written to request, in accordance with Canon 76 - 2 of the Codex Canonum Ecclesiarum Orientalium, the granting of Ecclesiastical Communion, which, as the Pope writes, is "an expression and bond of full communion with the Apostolic See, in common service to unity in the Church and the building up of the Body of Christ."

Pope Leo writes: "I am pleased to raise fervent prayers that Your Beatitude, as Father and Head of this beloved sui iuris Church, will exercise with pastoral care the ministry entrusted to you, leading the People of God according to the Heart of Christ and confirming them in faith, hope, and charity."

The Pope prays that the Holy Spirit will sustain the mission that the Patriarch is called to fulfil, "so that the Chaldean Church, rich in its ancient apostolic tradition and marked by the luminous testimony of numerous martyrs and confessors, may continue to make fruitful the proclamation of the Gospel," strengthening ecclesial communion "in its territory and in the ever-expanding diaspora."

Pope Leo then extends his greetings to the Chaldean Church's bishops, clergy, religious men and women, seminarians, candidates for consecrated life, and all the lay faithful.

The Pope recalls that the election took place "on the day when the Chaldean liturgy commemorates the encounter of the Risen Lord with Saint Thomas, from which the living tradition of this Church originates." In the luminous wounds of Jesus, the Pope writes, Thomas recognized "the merciful manifestation of his Lord". This, he says, is a reason to hope that God will accompany the ministry of Patriarch Nona "in the sign of faith, which demands much courage and perseverance from many of the faithful in Chaldean communities who face, as true believers, trials that are often quite challenging."

The Chaldean Catholic Church is in full communion with the Pope and the Roman Catholic Church. As an Eastern Catholic Church (sui iuris), it maintains its own ancient East Syriac rites and traditions while recognizing the authority of the Holy See.

The Chaldean Catholic Church entered into full communion with Rome in the mid-16th century, specifically following a union in 1552. As an Eastern Catholic Church (sui iuris), it maintains its own ancient East Syriac rites and traditions while recognising the authority of the Holy See.