Paul III Nona

Paul III Nona (born Amel Shamoon Nona; 1 November 1967) is an Iraqi Catholic hierarch who has served as Chaldean Catholic Patriarch of Baghdad since 2026. He previously served as Archbishop-Bishop of Saint Thomas the Apostle of Sydney from 2015 to 2026, and as Archbishop of Mosul from 2010 to 2015, including his exile amid the ISIS takeover in his region.

Early life Nona, an Assyro-Chaldean, was born in Alqosh in 1967. After completing his secondary education in 1986, he entered the Chaldean Patriarchal Seminary and was ordained priest on 11 January 1991 in Baghdad. From 1993 to 1997 he was parochial vicar at Alqosh, then pastor until 2000. In 2000, he enrolled at the Pontifical Lateran University. In 2005 he obtained a doctorate in theological anthropology and returned home. From 2005 he served as a professor of anthropology at the Babel College. Later, he was named vicar general of the Chaldean Catholic eparchy of Alqosh. He speaks Arabic, Syriac, English and Italian.

Archbishop of Mosul On 5 May 2009, the Synod of Bishops of the Chaldean Catholic Church elected Nona as Archeparch of Mosul. Pope Benedict XVI gave his consent to Nona's election on 13 November 2009. He was consecrated a bishop on 8 January 2010 by Emmanuel III Delly, patriarch of Babylon, as principal consecrator. At the age of 42, Nona was the youngest Chaldean Catholic archbishop in the world.

Speaking on the violence in Iraq in 2014, Nona said that all the Christians who were still living there had fled. Nona, corroborated this while speaking with the worldwide Catholic relief service Aid to the Church in Need: "All the faithful have left the city. Who knows whether they will ever be able to return. In 2003 there were still 35,000 faithful living in Mosul. Three thousand were still there in early 2014. Now probably not one is left here, and that is tragic." Nona went into exile because of the violence.

Shortly after his exile began, Nona gave an interview in which he warned the West against accepting Muslims into their communities:

Archbishop of Australia and New Zealand Nona was appointed Eparch of St Thomas the Apostle of Sydney of the Chaldeans on 15 January 2015. His installation took place on 7 March 2015. He succeeded Jibrail Kassab following his retirement.

He remained archbishop until his election as Patriarch of Baghdad of the Chaldeans on 12 April 2026.

Patriarch of Baghdad On 12 April 2026, the Synod of Bishops of the Chaldean Catholic Church elected Nona Patriarch of Baghdad. He took the name "Paul III" upon his election. In a letter dated 24 April 2026, Pope Leo XIV assented to his election and granted Nona the ecclesiastica communio (ecclesiastical communion).

On 9 May 2026, when asked why he chose his regnal name, he replied, "I chose the name polis in reference to two persons. The first is Saint Paul, because he is a profound figure — a great theologian and a teacher who conveys the faith with depth, while at the same time carrying an apostolic zeal to proclaim this theology and to teach the faith to others. The second person is Patriarch Polis II Cheikho, who was an example of humility and pastoral care. For these two reasons, I chose the name Paul."

He was installed as Patriarch on 29 May 2026 in St. Joseph Chaldean Cathedral in Baghdad. On 30 May 2026, Pope Leo appointed Nona a member of the Dicastery for the Eastern Churches.