Jibrail Kassab (born 5 August 1938) is a

bishop A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is c ...

of the Chaldean Catholic Church who presides over the Eparchy of Saint Thomas the Apostle of Sydney in Australia. He has been the bishop of this

diocese In church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided provinces were administratively associa ...

since its inception on 21 October 2006. His bishopric is currently based at St Thomas the Apostle Chaldean Catholic Church,

Bossley Park Bossley Park is a suburb of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Bossley Park is located 36 kilometres west of the Sydney central business district in the local government area of the City of Fairfield. Bossley Park is part of the ...

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

. Kassab was born in

Tel Keppe Tel Keppe ( syr, ܬܸܠ ܟܹܐܦܹܐ ', ar, تل كيف ', alternatively spelled Tel Kaif or Telkef) is an Assyrian town in northern Iraq. It is located in the Nineveh Governorate, less than 8 mi (13 km) northeast of Mosul.Welcome to Te ...

Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to the north, Iran to the east, the Persian Gulf and K ...

, to an

Assyrian Assyrian may refer to: * Assyrian people, the indigenous ethnic group of Mesopotamia. * Assyria, a major Mesopotamian kingdom and empire. ** Early Assyrian Period ** Old Assyrian Period ** Middle Assyrian Empire ** Neo-Assyrian Empire * Assyrian ...

family. He was ordained a

priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in partic ...

on 19 January 1961. Following 35 years of service in the priesthood, he was elevated to the

episcopate A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...

by the then

Patriarch of Babylon of the Chaldeans This is a list of the Chaldean Catholicoi-Patriarchs of Baghdad, formerly Babylon, the leaders of the Chaldean Catholic Church and one of the Patriarchs of the east of the Catholic Church starting from 1553 following the schism of 1552 which ...

, Mar Raphael I Bidawid. Upon his installation, his first post was to serve as archbishop of the Archeparchy of Basra. Following the difficult plight of Iraq's Chaldean

Christians Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words '' Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρ ...

during the

Iraq War {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Iraq War {{Nobold, {{lang, ar, حرب العراق (Arabic) {{Nobold, {{lang, ku, شەڕی عێراق ( Kurdish) , partof = the Iraq conflict and the War on terror , image ...

Pope Benedict XVI Pope Benedict XVI ( la, Benedictus XVI; it, Benedetto XVI; german: link=no, Benedikt XVI.; born Joseph Aloisius Ratzinger, , on 16 April 1927) is a retired prelate of the Catholic church who served as the head of the Church and the soverei ...

transferred Kassab to a safer area and created a diocese in Sydney 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