Cardinal Koch represents Holy Father at enthronement of His Holiness Mar Awa III

His Holiness Mar Awa III, the new Catholicos Patriarch of the Assyrian Church of the East, was enthroned at Saint John the Baptist Cathedral in Erbil, Iraq, on Monday 13 September.

Cardinal Kurt Koch, President of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity, read the message of Pope Francis for the occasion.

In his own greeting, the Cardinal recalled the Holy Father’s recent visit to Iraq, highlighting that “it is “in this land that the Assyrian Church of the East has its roots” and that its recent return to its See in Iraq had marked an historical milestone.

Expressing the hope that new steps may be undertaken towards full Eucharistic communion, Cardinal Koch presented to His Holiness Mar Awa III the gift of a chalice on the part of Pope Francis.