Pope Leo XIV had a meeting April 10 with members of the Chaldean Church of Baghdad who are gathered in Rome for a Synod meeting, during which they will elect a new patriarch, according to Vatican News.
In his lengthy address to the attendees, Pope Leo encouraged them to be open to the Holy Spirit’s guidance and elect a patriarch who is living “most in accordance with the heart of Christ.”
He added that the new spiritual shepherd “should be, above all, a father in faith and a sign of communion with all and among all.” The Pope also said that the future patriarch must be prayerful and cultivate a daily holiness comprised “of honesty, mercy, and purity of heart,” rather than what Vatican News described as “extraordinary gestures.”
The patriarch’s role is to listen and accompany the faithful, according to the Pope, who said that “authority in the Church is always service and never hegemony.”
The meeting comes one month after the Pontiff accepted the resignation of Cardinal Louis Sako, who had served as the patriarch of Baghdad of the Chaldeans for 13 years.
According to Vatican News, the Pope emphasized that this moment is an opportunity for spiritual renewal and advised them to prioritize priestly formation, accompany the lay faithful, and be aware and transparent with the management of the Church’s assets.
Pope Leo also acknowledged that the election is occurring during a “delicate and complex phase” and encouraged them to walk through the Easter octave without fear of new challenges, according to Vatican News.
In recent years, the Chaldean Church in Baghdad has borne several challenges, such as Islamic State attacks, mass migration of Christians from Iraq, and “the revocation of legal recognition of the Patriarch’s role,” Vatican News reported. In his address, Pope Leo told the faithful that he supports them amid this time of difficulties.
The Holy Father said the faithful of the Chaldean Catholic Church “are signs of hope in a world marked by absurd and inhumane violence, which in these times, driven by greed and hatred, spreads ferociously in the very lands that saw the rise of salvation.”
He concluded by urging them to cultivate peace, underscoring that the lives of the most vulnerable are more important than anything.
“No cause can justify the shedding of innocent blood,” he said, according to Vatican News.
Absurd and inhuman violence is spreading ferociously through the sacred places of the Christian East, profaned by the blasphemy of war and the brutality of business, with no regard for people’s lives, which are considered at most collateral damage of self-interest. But no gain…
— Pope Leo XIV (@Pontifex) April 10, 2026
He told them that they are called to “never [be] on the side of those who yesterday wielded the sword and today launch bombs.”
God does not bless any conflict. Anyone who is a disciple of Christ, the Prince of Peace, is never on the side of those who once wielded the sword and today drop bombs. Military action will not create space for freedom or times of #Peace, which comes only from the patient…
— Pope Leo XIV (@Pontifex) April 10, 2026