Pope’s condolence message on death of Cardinal Delly,former Chaldean patriarch

April 09,2014: Pope Francis on Wednesday expressed profound grief on hearing of the death of Cardinal Emmanuel III Delly, Patriarch Emeritus of Babylon of the Chaldeans who died Wednesday in a hospital in San Diego, US.
Vatican Secretary of State, Cardinal Pietro Parolin sent a condolence message in the Pope’s name to Patriarch Louis Raphaël I Sako, expressing the Pope’s grief to men and women religious and lay faithful of the Patriarchate, both in Iraq and in the diaspora. The papal message recalled with deep gratitude the late Patriarch’s dedication to his people and to the promotion of respectful, just and peaceful relations with followers of other religious traditions.
The late cardinal was born 27 September 1927 in Telkaif, Iraq. He was ordained priest in 1952, consecrated bishop in 1963 and on December 3, 2003, he was elected Patriarch of the eastern-rite Chaldean Catholic Church. Pope Benedict made him a cardinal in 2007. With his death the College of Cardinals now stands at 216, of which 120 are eligible to vote for a new pontiff and 96 are non-leligible.Source: Sedoc