Jibrail Kassab (born 5 August 1938) is a
bishop of the
Chaldean Catholic Church
, native_name_lang = syc
, image = Assyrian Church.png
, imagewidth = 200px
, alt =
, caption = Cathedral of Our Lady of Sorrows Baghdad, Iraq
, abbreviation =
, type ...
who presides over the
Eparchy of Saint Thomas the Apostle of Sydney
The Chaldean Catholic Church, Chaldean Catholic Eparchy of Saint Thomas the Apostle is in Sydney, Australia, and is immediately subject to the Holy See. The bishop was formerly Archbishop Jibrail Kassab, Djibrail Kassab, appointed in 2006. His ...
in Australia. He has been the bishop of this
diocese since its inception on 21 October 2006. His bishopric is currently based at St Thomas the Apostle Chaldean Catholic Church,
Bossley Park,
New South Wales. Kassab was born in
Tel Keppe,
Iraq, to an
Assyrian family. He was ordained a
priest on 19 January 1961. Following 35 years of service in the
priesthood, he was elevated to the
episcopate by the then
Patriarch of Babylon of the Chaldeans,
Mar Raphael I Bidawid. Upon his installation, his first post was to serve as archbishop of the
Archeparchy of Basra
Eparchy ( gr, ἐπαρχία, la, eparchía / ''overlordship'') is an ecclesiastical unit in Eastern Christianity, that is equivalent to a diocese in Western Christianity. Eparchy is governed by an ''eparch'', who is a bishop. Depending on ...
. Following the difficult plight of Iraq's Chaldean
Christians during the
Iraq War,
Pope Benedict XVI transferred Kassab to a safer area and created a diocese in
Sydney
Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...
that would cover all of Australia and New Zealand. He installed Kassab as its head prelate, a post he still holds today.
External links
Kaldu.org- Eparchy of St Peter the Apostle website
GCatholic.org Website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kassab, Jibrail
Australian people of Iraqi-Assyrian descent
Chaldean archbishops
Iraqi archbishops
Iraqi emigrants to Australia
People from Tel Keppe
Iraqi Eastern Catholics
Australian Eastern Catholics
Living people
1938 births
Iraqi Assyrian people