Pope Leo XIV Officially Grants Ecclesiastical Communion to the Newly Elected Patriarch of the Chaldeans Polis III Nona
The Pope wrote a response letter released today, April 28, by the Holy See Press Office, addressed to the Patriarch of Baghdad of the Chaldeans, Polis III Nona (Archbishop Amel Shamon), canonically elected on April 12, 2026 in Rome by the Synod of Bishops of his own Church sui iuris. The appointment took place, April 12, following the resignation of his predecessor, Luis Raphaël Sako, announced last March 10. His Beatitude had previously written to request, in accordance with canon 76 § 2 of the Codex Canonum Ecclesiarum Orientalium , the granting of Ecclesiastical Communion which – the Pope writes – is “an expression and bond of full communion with the Apostolic See, in the common service of unity in the Church and the building up of the Body of Christ”.
FULL TEXT LETTER OF THE HOLY FATHER LEO XIV
FOR THE GRANTING OF ECCLESIASTICAL COMMUNIO
TO THE PATRIARCH OF BAGHDAD OF THE CHALDEANS
___________________________________
To His Beatitude
POLIS III NONA
Patriarch of Baghdad of the Chaldeans
I have received the esteemed Letter with which Your Beatitude, canonically elected Patriarch of Baghdad of the Chaldeans on 12 April 2026 by the Synod of Bishops of this Church, celebrated in Rome, asked me, in accordance with canon 76 § 2 of the Codex Canonum Ecclesiarum Orientalium , to grant Ecclesiastical Communion.
In this regard, it is with a heart filled with joy that I grant you the Ecclesiastica Communio , as an expression and bond of full communion with the Apostolic See, in the common service of unity in the Church and the building up of the Body of Christ.
I am pleased to raise fervent prayers that Your Beatitude, as Father and Head of this beloved Church sui iuris , may exercise with pastoral solicitude the ministry entrusted to you, guiding the People of God according to the Heart of Christ and confirming them in faith, hope and charity.
May the Holy Spirit sustain you in the fulfillment of the mission you have received, so that the Chaldean Church, rich in its ancient apostolic tradition and marked by the luminous witness of numerous martyrs and confessors, may continue to make the proclamation of the Gospel fruitful, as it did with a wonderful missionary spirit, strengthening ecclesial communion in its own territory and in those of the ever-growing diaspora.
In addressing my paternal greeting to the Bishops who are members of the Synod, to the clergy, to the men and women religious, to the seminarians, to the candidates for the consecrated life and to all the lay faithful, I entrust Your Beatitude to the maternal intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of the Church, and to the protection of Saints Addai and Mari.
The election of Your Beatitude took place on the day the Chaldean liturgy commemorates the Risen Christ's encounter with St. Thomas, from whom the living tradition of this Church originates. May the Apostle recognize in the luminous wounds of Jesus the merciful manifestation of his Lord, and may God accompany his patriarchal ministry in the spirit of faith, which demands such courage and perseverance from many of the faithful of the Chaldean communities who, as true believers, face the pride of the Church and often quite arduous trials.
To Your Beatitude I heartily impart the Apostolic Blessing, a pledge of consolation in the Lord.
From the Vatican, April 24, 2026
LEO PP. XIV
FOR THE GRANTING OF ECCLESIASTICAL COMMUNIO
TO THE PATRIARCH OF BAGHDAD OF THE CHALDEANS
___________________________________
To His Beatitude
POLIS III NONA
Patriarch of Baghdad of the Chaldeans
I have received the esteemed Letter with which Your Beatitude, canonically elected Patriarch of Baghdad of the Chaldeans on 12 April 2026 by the Synod of Bishops of this Church, celebrated in Rome, asked me, in accordance with canon 76 § 2 of the Codex Canonum Ecclesiarum Orientalium , to grant Ecclesiastical Communion.
In this regard, it is with a heart filled with joy that I grant you the Ecclesiastica Communio , as an expression and bond of full communion with the Apostolic See, in the common service of unity in the Church and the building up of the Body of Christ.
I am pleased to raise fervent prayers that Your Beatitude, as Father and Head of this beloved Church sui iuris , may exercise with pastoral solicitude the ministry entrusted to you, guiding the People of God according to the Heart of Christ and confirming them in faith, hope and charity.
May the Holy Spirit sustain you in the fulfillment of the mission you have received, so that the Chaldean Church, rich in its ancient apostolic tradition and marked by the luminous witness of numerous martyrs and confessors, may continue to make the proclamation of the Gospel fruitful, as it did with a wonderful missionary spirit, strengthening ecclesial communion in its own territory and in those of the ever-growing diaspora.
In addressing my paternal greeting to the Bishops who are members of the Synod, to the clergy, to the men and women religious, to the seminarians, to the candidates for the consecrated life and to all the lay faithful, I entrust Your Beatitude to the maternal intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of the Church, and to the protection of Saints Addai and Mari.
The election of Your Beatitude took place on the day the Chaldean liturgy commemorates the Risen Christ's encounter with St. Thomas, from whom the living tradition of this Church originates. May the Apostle recognize in the luminous wounds of Jesus the merciful manifestation of his Lord, and may God accompany his patriarchal ministry in the spirit of faith, which demands such courage and perseverance from many of the faithful of the Chaldean communities who, as true believers, face the pride of the Church and often quite arduous trials.
To Your Beatitude I heartily impart the Apostolic Blessing, a pledge of consolation in the Lord.
From the Vatican, April 24, 2026
LEO PP. XIV
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