Emmanuel III Delly
Mar Emmanuel III Delly (Syriac: ܡܪܝ ܥܡܢܘܐܝܠ ܬܠܝܬܝܐ ܕܠܝ, Arabic: مار عمانوئيل الثالث دلّي) was the Patriarch Emeritus of Babylon of the Chaldeans and former Primate of the Chaldean Catholic Church, an Eastern Catholic sui juris Particular church of the Catholic Church and a Cardinal. An ethnic Assyrian, he was born in Tel Keppe and was ordained a priest on 21 December 1952. He was consecrated a bishop ten years later in December 1962 at the age of 35. He was elected Patriarch of the Chaldean Church on 3 December 2003, succeeding the late Patriarch Raphael I Bidawid. He was created a Cardinal Bishop on 24 November 2007.
Birth
Karem Delly was born in Tel Keppe, in northern Iraq, on 27 September 1927 to Jarjes Murad Delly and Katrina Putros. He was baptized on 6 October 1927 by Father Francis Kattola.
Episcopal life
Since his election as Patriarch in December 2003, Mar Emmanuel III Delly continued to work for the Chaldean Church. In Iraq, the Chaldean Church, which is the largest Christian group, consists of eight dioceses totaling 100 parishes and approximately 600,000 people. Additionally, there are another eight dioceses outside of Iraq, in countries including Iran, Turkey, Syria, Lebanon, Egypt, Europe, Australia, Canada and the U.S. It is estimated that the Chaldean population is over one and a half million devotees world wide. He was well-known for his respect and cooperation with leaders of other churches and faiths, mainly Muslims.
