Elected patriarch at the Chaldean Synod held in Rome from April 9 to 12, 2026, Bishop (Mar) Émile Chem’on Nona, Archbishop of Sydney (Diocese of Australia and New Zealand), took the name Mar Paul III.
He was born in 1967 in Alqoche (northern Iraq), the birthplace of the biblical prophet Nahum of Alqoche and the historic center of the Church of the East (Assyrian-Chaldean). He comes from a family originally from the village of Gaznagh (Hakkari Mountains, southeastern Turkey), which settled in Alqoche beginning in 1888.
After studying at the Chaldean Patriarchal Seminary in Baghdad, Fr. Émile was ordained on January 11, 1991, appointed assistant pastor in Alqoche (1993–1997), and then parish pastor (1997–2000). He gained extensive pastoral experience. Between 2000 and 2005, he studied in Rome at the Faculty of Theology of the Pontifical Lateran University, where he earned his doctorate in theology. Upon his return to Iraq, he was appointed vicar general of the Diocese of Alqoche and professor of anthropology at the Faculty of Theology (Babel College) in Erbil (Iraqi Kurdistan Autonomous Region).
In May 2009, he was elected Chaldean archbishop of the city of Mosul-Nineveh (northern Iraq) and confirmed by the Holy See; he was consecrated and installed as bishop in January 2010. At the age of 42, he succeeded the martyred Archbishop Paulos Faraj Rahho (1942–2008), who was assassinated in March 2008. He demonstrated great courage in accepting his mission in Mosul, a dangerous city marked by violence and terrorism, the murders of Christians, and attacks on churches.
A l’été 2014, les terroristes de Daech prennent Mossoul et la plaine de Ninive, expulsent manu militari 120 000 chrétiens, qui se réfugient avec leurs évêques et prêtres à Erbil et dans le Kurdistan irakien. « Dans ma difficile mission, dira-t-il, j’ai voulu être avec les fidèles. J’ai vu la persécution [anti-chrétienne] comme un moyen pour connaître et approfondir la foi ». Quelques mois après, en janvier 2015, il est nommé archevêque de Sydney (diocèse d’Australie et Nouvelle Zélande) ; durant les 11 ans passés en Océanie, il a été un pasteur aimé de ses fidèles et très engagé dans l’œcuménisme.
On April 13, 2026, the Assyrian Patriarch Mar Awa III wrote the following in his congratulatory message: “Let us pray to the Lord to strengthen us so that, together with our brother bishops, our clergy, and our faithful, we may walk together in a spirit of brotherhood marked by sincere love and mutual support, so that our efforts may be abundantly blessed by divine Providence […]. I look forward to working with Your Beatitude toward a brighter and more prosperous future for our Church and our shared nation.”
This young patriarch, deeply rooted in Eastern traditions, committed to ecumenism, dialogue, and mutual support with other Churches, with hands-on experience both in Iraq and among the diaspora, and who is close to and beloved by his faithful, will be able to unite and guide his people, scattered across the five continents. We wish him success and prosperity at the Catholicosate of Kokhe-Babylon, at the head of the Chaldean Catholic Church (800,000 faithful worldwide, including 165,000 in Iraq).
Joseph Alichoran
