ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq – Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia’ al-Sudani on Tuesday gave his backing to Patriarch of Baghdad and Cardinal Louis Raphaël I Sako to succeed the recently deceased Pope Francis as leader of the Catholic Church.

Citing Sako as the only nominee for the papacy from a Middle Eastern country, Sudani noted in a post on X that the Chaldean Patriarch is “respected both locally and internationally, and he plays a vital role in advancing peace and fostering interfaith tolerance.”

Following the death of Pope Francis on Monday, an electoral process will begin that will see his successor chosen by a pool of cardinals.

Cardinal Sako, who was born in Zakho in the Kurdistan Region, was installed as Patriarch of Baghdad, the primate of the Chaldean Catholic Church, in 2013.

The controversial revocation of his title by Iraqi President Abdul Latif Rashid in 2023 led to Sako leaving the capital and moving to the Kurdistan Region temporarily before later reconciling with the Baghdad authorities.

A cardinal since 2018, Sako is eligible to become the next pope should he win the election, a difficult feat given the historic dominance of Italian-born pontiffs.

Prime Minister Sudani stressed the salience of Iraq in the history of Christianity, calling the country “one of the most significant homelands for followers of the Christian faith” and emphasizing that Iraq “remains a land where all Christian denominations are represented.”

The late Pope Francis visited Iraq and the Kurdistan Region in 2021, where he addressed Iraqi Christians and made efforts to support interfaith dialogue and tolerance initiatives.

Iraq has one of the oldest Christian communities in the world. Syriac, an ancient dialect of Aramaic—believed to have been the language spoken by Jesus—is still used as a liturgical language by the Chaldean Catholic Church.

According to the European Centre for Law and Justice, Iraq’s Christian population has declined from 1.5 million in 2003 to merely 150,000 as of 2024, with many fleeing due to sectarian violence and attacks perpetrated by the Islamic State (ISIS).

Many Christians sought refuge from ISIS attacks in the Kurdistan Region.