emembering mar delly
emembering mar delly Chaldeans pay respect to our former Patriarch By Vanessa Denha Garmo and Joyce Wiswell photo by david reed 20 CHALDEAN NEWS MAY 2014
He made history while he was alive and in his passing as His Beatitude, Cardinal Emmanuel III Delly, Patriarch Emeritus of Babylon of the Chaldeans, was laid to rest in Michigan on April 12. He is the first Chaldean Patriarch to be buried in the United States. The Patriarch died in a hospital in San Diego, California, on April 8. He was 87 years old. He became the first Chaldean Patriarch to be elevated to the College of Cardinals when Pope Benedict XVI did so in November 2007. As a Cardinal he was a consultant to the Pope. It was not just the Chaldean community that attended the visitation, vigil and funeral mass for the Patriarch; many members of the Detroit Diocese and other churches paid their respects. Cardinal Adam Maida, Archbishop Allen H. Vigneron, and the Maronite Bishop attended along with other clergy, deacons and nuns. The community was invited to a public viewing on April 11 that included a Liturgical Vigil at Mother of God Church on Berg Road in Southfield. The funeral mass was held there the following day. The majority of the Patriarch Emeritus’ relatives had moved to the United States, and many of them live in Detroit. “We were very touched by his death,” said Mar Ibrahim Ibrahim, who personally knew Patriarch Delly for 40 years. “He was a humble man and he loved his community.” Mar Ibrahim was ordained a priest just a few months before Patriarch Delly was elevated to a Bishop in the 1960s. “Leadership is not about authority, it is about serving,” said Mar Ibrahim. “Jesus came to serve as we are called to serve as priests, bishops, patriarchs – we are to serve.” Current Patriarch Raphael Louis Sako I said of Cardinal Delly, “He served the Chaldean Church for more than 60 years with dedication, first as a priest and then as Bishop and as Patriarch. He lived through the crises of his country: the revolution in 1958; the wars in the last decades; the persecution of Christians followed by the invasion of the USA. In all this time he remained loyal to his country and to his people, he did not abandon his flock, he remained with his faithful, praying, helping, encouraging them.” A solemn Requiem Mass for Cardinal Delly was celebrated in St Joseph’s Chaldean Cathedral in Baghdad. Patriarch Emeritus Delly was born in Telkaif, Archeparchy of Mosul of the Chaldeans, on September 27, 1927. He photo by david reed The Patriarch was a humble man. Mourners packed Mother of God for the visitation. graduated in theology from the Pontifical Urbaniana University and studied canon law at the Pontifical Lateran University. He was ordained a priest on December 21, 1952 by Cardinal Pietro Fumasoni Biondi in Rome, at the Pontifical Urban College of Propaganda Fide. He returned to Baghdad as secretary of the Patriarch on December 30, 1960. He was elected to the titular Church of Paleopoli of Asia on December 7, 1962 and appointed Auxiliary of Patriarch Paul II Cheikho, receiving episcopal ordination on April 19, 1963. On December 3, 2003, he was elected by the Chaldean Bishops as the Patriarch of Babylon, while Iraq was going through a terrible time after the U.S.- led military intervention led to the fall of Saddam Hussein’s regime. During his patriarchal ministry, in August 2004, there were bloody attacks against churches in Baghdad and Mosul. “What happened to Christians in Iraq was devastating,” said Bishop Ibrahim. “Despite the violence, the attacks, the kidnappings and killings of our priests and bombing of churches, Patriarch Delly never left Iraq. He stayed close to his people.” Fr. Manuel Boji of Holy Martyrs Church in Sterling Heights agreed. “Having a deep spirit of love of God and the church he was ready always to serve others and to sacrifice his time to assure that all Christians of Iraq were taken care of. Through his diplomatic skills MAR DELLY continued from page 22 MAY 2014 CHALDEAN NEWS 21
