Archeparchy of Mosul Archieparchia Mausiliensis Chaldaeorum |
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Location | |
Country | Iraq |
Statistics | |
Area | 528 km2 (204 sq mi) |
Population - Catholics |
16,815 |
Parishes | 13 |
Information | |
Denomination | Chaldean Catholic |
Rite | East Syrian Rite |
Established | 14 February 1967 |
Cathedral | St Paul's Cathedral |
Secular priests | 8 |
Current leadership | |
Pope | Francis |
Archbishop | Emil Shimoun Nona |
The Chaldean Catholic Archeparchy of Mosul (Latin: Archieparchia Mausiliensis Chaldaeorum) is a diocese of the Chaldean Catholic Church, located in the northern Iraqi city of Mosul. Its followers are ethnic Chaldeans and speakers of Aramaic. The diocese comprises the city of Mosul. The territory is subdivided in 12 parishes. The diocese of Mosul was elevated to Archeparchy of Mosul on February 14, 1967 by Pope Paul VI. The ordinary was Mar Paulos Faraj Rahho until his death in early 2008. He was succeeded in November 2009 by Archbishop-elect Emil Shimoun Nona, who until his election and ratification had been a professor of anthropology at Babel College and a pastor and vicar general in the eparchy of Alqosh. As of 2012[update] the Papal Nuncio was Archbishop Francis Assisi Chullikatt, whose Apostolic Nunciature is the entire state of Iraq.
Mosul has been the see of the Patriarch of the Chaldean Catholic Church from Mar Yohannan Hormizd to Mar Yousef VI Emmanuel II Thomas.
The archeparchy is led by the prelature of an archbishop, concurrently the pastor of St. Paul's Cathedral. The cathedral was the target of a bombing on December 7, 2004, leaving the building badly damaged. The bishop's residence was a modern two story building that housed the archbishopric, which was 10 km away from the cathedral. The bishopric was built and inaugurated in 1995 by the late Mar George Garmo. It was destroyed on August 12, 1995 by five attackers who ransacked the building after forcing everyone to leave and loading the building with dynamite. Late on February 29, 2008, according to a report given by the Catholic News Service, Archbishop Rahho was kidnapped from his car; his bodyguards and driver were killed. On 13 March 2008, it was reported that the Archbishop's body had been found buried near Mosul.