‘We Are Not Distant Islands’: New Iraqi Catholic Patriarch Vows to Rebuild Christian Homeland Ravaged by ISIS

Baghdad, Iraq – In a stirring display of resilience and faith, Patriarch Paul III Nona was officially installed as the new head of the Chaldean Catholic Church on Friday, inside Baghdad’s Cathedral of St. Joseph. With Vatican envoys, Iraqi officials, and church leaders looking on, the patriarch—who once fled Mosul as the black flags of ISIS (Daesh) descended—issued an unyielding pledge to strengthen Iraq’s embattled Christian community. “We shall do all that lies within our power to strengthen this presence in our homeland,” he told Catholic charity Aid to the Church in Need, calling Christians “the salt of this land.” His return marks a dramatic reversal for a people who have endured systematic persecution, with Iraq now ranked the 18th most dangerous country for Christians by Open Doors. Yet the patriarch, who spent 11 years shepherding refugees in Australia and New Zealand after the fall of the Nineveh Plains, declared that exile itself is “a mission”—a divine appointment to remind secular societies of faith’s enduring power.

In a powerful appeal for unity, Patriarch Paul III urged Iraq’s fractured mosaic of believers—Assyrian, Armenian, Syriac, and Chaldean—to see their diversity not as a weakness but as a “magnificent mosaic.” “What unites us ought to be the foundation of our relations,” he said, rejecting the notion that they are “distant islands separated from one another.” Turning to the nation’s youth, whom he called the “strength and vitality” of the Church, he insisted that when young people are truly listened to, “they become deeply active in the Church, steadfast in hope, and courageous in proclaiming the faith.” For a community that traces its roots to ancient Mesopotamia—where Christians have worshipped for nearly two millennia—the patriarch’s message was unmistakable: Iraq’s Christian presence is not a fading relic but an essential testimony, and under his leadership, it will not simply survive; it will bear witness anew.