Bashar Warda

Archbishop Bashar Matti Warda is the current Archbishop of Erbil.  He is well known for his wide-ranging support for the Christian refugees in Iraq, and for promoting inter-religious dialog and environmental protection in Iraq. As part of his efforts to support the continuing Christian presence in Iraq, the Archbishop founded the Catholic University in Erbil, which was inaugurated in 2015. Ordained a priest in 1993, he joined the Redemptorist order of Flanders in Belgium two years later. After receiving his MA at the Catholic University of Louvain in 1999 he returned to Iraq.  In 2009 the Synod of Bishops of the Chaldean Catholic Church elected him for service as a bishop, and Bishop Warda was consecrated in July 2010.