Louis Raphaël Sako was born in Zākhō, Iraq, on 4 July 1948. He completed his primary education in Mosul and attended the Saint Jean Seminary there, directed by the Dominican Fathers. He was ordained a priest on 1 June 1974 and served at the Cathedral of Mosul until 1979. Sent to Rome, he obtained a doctorate in oriental patrology at the Pontifical Oriental Institute, and subsequently a doctorate in history from the Sorbonne in Paris. From 1997 to 2002 he was Rector of the Patriarchal Seminary in Baghdad, then returned to Mosul to direct the parish of Our Lady of Perpetual Help. He has published books on the Church Fathers and numerous articles.
He was elected Archbishop of Kerkūk on 27 September 2003 and consecrated bishop on 14 November 2003. On 31 January 2013 the Chaldean Synod, convoked in Rome after the resignation of Patriarch Emmanuel III Delly, elected him Patriarch; he received the ecclesiastica communio from Pope Benedict XVI on 1 February 2013. His patriarchate covered the Islamic State's seizure of Mosul and the Nineveh Plain in 2014, which drove some 120,000 Christians from their homes, and Pope Francis's visit to Iraq in March 2021, which he helped organize.
Pope Francis created him a cardinal in the consistory of 28 June 2018 and appointed him President-Delegate of the Synod of Bishops on Young People in October 2018. He is a member of the Dicastery for the Eastern Churches, the Dicastery for Culture and Education, the Dicastery for Interreligious Dialogue, and the Council for the Economy. He participated as a cardinal elector in the 2025 conclave that elected Pope Leo XIV, the first Chaldean patriarch to vote in a conclave.
In July 2023, after President Abdul Latif Rashid revoked the decree recognizing him as patriarch, Sako withdrew from Baghdad to Erbil in Iraqi Kurdistan; he returned to Baghdad in April 2024 at the invitation of Prime Minister Mohammed Shia' al-Sudani. Pope Leo XIV accepted his resignation as patriarch in March 2026, and the Holy See now styles him Patriarch Emeritus of Babylon of the Chaldeans.
Consequential Quotes
This is the call of my nomination as a cardinal. It is not a prize or a personal reward.
I am sure our Church will grow, that Christianity will grow.
Despite everything that we’ve lived through, we still think that we have a vocation in this country, where Muslims are the majority, to bear witness to our faith.
This gives us hope that Jesus is risen. Even if we’re persecuted, even if we’re killed, we have this hope.
I led the Chaldean Church under extremely difficult circumstances and amid great challenges. I preserved the unity of its institutions and spared no effort in defending it and the rights of Iraqis and Christians, taking positions and maintaining a presence both inside and outside the country.
Of course, no one defends Christians other than the church.
Major Works & Initiatives
Archbishop of Kirkuk
Elected Archbishop of Kerkūk on 27 September 2003 per the Holy See biography and consecrated on 14 November 2003; in Kirkuk he organized a joint appeal for peace by more than fifty Christian and Muslim religious leaders in August 2009.
Pax Christi International Peace Award
Awarded the Pax Christi International Peace Award in 2010; Catholic News Agency also records a Defensor Fidei award in 2008.
Proposal for a reunited Church of the East
In 2015 he proposed a reunion of the Chaldean Catholic Church with the Ancient Church of the East and the Assyrian Church of the East as one Church of the East in communion with Rome, offering his own resignation to make it possible; the Assyrian Church of the East declined, citing remaining ecclesiological divergences.
President-Delegate of the Synod of Bishops on Young People
Appointed by Pope Francis on 14 July 2018 as a President-Delegate of the XV Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops on Young People, the Faith and Vocational Discernment (October 2018), per the Holy See biography.
Controversies
Revocation of the patriarchal decree, 2023–2024
In 2013 President Jalal Talabani had issued a decree recognizing Sako as Patriarch of the Chaldean Church and its official representative. On 3 July 2023 President Abdul Latif Rashid revoked that recognition. Rashid said the move did not affect Sako's religious or legal status and rested on the patriarchal office not being recognized in the Iraqi Constitution. Sako called the revocation unprecedented and a humiliation for the Church, said it was part of a deliberate campaign against him, and alleged an official wish to control Church properties; he also accused Babylon Movement leader Rayan al-Kildani of seeking to seize Christian-owned properties, while al-Kildani and Sako each accused the other of exploiting influence over Christian assets. Sako withdrew to Erbil in July 2023. He returned to Baghdad in April 2024 at the invitation of Prime Minister Mohammed Shia' al-Sudani, and Kurdistan Chronicle reported that al-Sudani formally reinstated him as patriarch on 5 June 2024.
Dispute with five Chaldean bishops, 2024
In August 2024 Sako demanded a public apology from five Chaldean bishops, including Archbishop Bashar Warda of Erbil, after they absented themselves from the July 2024 episcopal synod and a subsequent retreat and withdrew their students from the Chaldean seminary. He set a deadline of 5 September, after which he said he would report them to Pope Francis for canonical sanctions; the five did not apologize, citing alleged canonical irregularities in his conduct and dissatisfaction with his leadership. The bishops who attended the synod declared the absence to be 'without legal justification', and the patriarchate described the boycott as a dangerous precedent. Sako had also accused Warda of collaborating with Rayan al-Kildani's Babylon Movement against his authority, an accusation Warda's side rejected; Warda publicly called the rift a misunderstanding.
Suspended priests in the United States, 2014–2015
In October 2014 Sako signed a decree suspending twelve Chaldean priests and religious living in the diaspora — in the United States, Canada, Australia and Sweden — who had left Iraq without their superiors' permission, after ultimatums to return or to regularize their position went unanswered; the sanctions took effect on 22 October. Supporters of the men, including Bishop Sarhad Jammo of San Diego, appealed to Pope Francis, arguing that a return to Iraq at the height of the Islamic State offensive could amount to a death sentence; the suspensions were held in abeyance pending the Holy See's decision, and the dispute led to an extraordinary synod of the Chaldean Church in February 2015.
Sources
- Holy See Press Office — biography
- Wikipedia
- Catholic News Agency — Patriarch Sako will be Chaldean Catholics' first voting cardinal, 27 June 2018
- Vatican News via Herald Malaysia — Patriarch Sako: Iraq's Christians 'have a vocation in this country', 18 October 2025
- Catholic News Agency via Catholic World Report — Cardinal Sako returns to Baghdad, 15 April 2024
- Associated Press via Religion News Service — Cardinal Sako retires, 11 March 2026
- Catholic News Service — Iraqi priests sanctioned for seeking asylum without superiors' consent, 23 October 2014