On Tuesday evening, April 21, the Chaldean Cathedral of Saint Thomas the Apostle in the Bosley Park neighborhood of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, organized a grand celebration to welcome His Beatitude Mar Paul III Nona, the newly appointed Patriarch of the Chaldean Church. This event marked a short visit to Australia before his return to the patriarchal see in Baghdad.
His Beatitude Mar Paul III was greeted with church hymns and a procession of dozens of deacons carrying palm fronds, accompanied by church leaders from the main entrance to the cathedral building, where the celebration took place. The event saw participation from the clergy of the diocese, including Bishop Anthony Fisher, Archbishop of the Catholic Church in Sydney, Bishop Antoine Charbel Tarabay, pastor of the Maronite Archdiocese of Australia, New Zealand, and Oceania, Bishop Robert Rabbat, Bishop of the Melkite Greek Catholic Archdiocese in Australia and New Zealand, and Bishop Daniel, Bishop of the Coptic Orthodox Diocese of Sydney and its suburbs.
Numerous political leaders and public figures attended the celebration, including Mr. Chris Bowen, the Australian Minister for Energy, Mr. Edmond Attallah, a member of the New South Wales Parliament and Assistant Minister for Police and Counter-Terrorism, and Mr. Frank Carbone, Mayor of Fairfield. A large crowd from the churches of the diocese in Sydney also participated, led by the mother of the newly elected patriarch, who proudly wore the traditional Alqosh attire.
During the celebration, the heads of the churches and political leaders proudly conveyed their congratulations and best wishes to the newly elected patriarch. His Beatitude Mar Paul III also delivered a speech discussing the history of the Chaldean Church and his journey to the patriarchate, expressing gratitude to those present. At the conclusion of the event, the patriarch took commemorative photos with attendees.
It’s worth noting that Patriarch Mar Paul has been serving in Australia since his appointment as the Bishop of the Diocese of Saint Thomas the Apostle for Chaldean Catholics in Australia and New Zealand in 2014. He established several churches and advanced their mission to serve the community, coinciding with the increase in the number of immigrants from the Iraqi community due to the challenging circumstances in Iraq during the invasion of ISIS, which he experienced while serving as the Archbishop of Mosul from 2010 to 2014.
