vatican.va - The Pope has appointed as eparchial bishop of Saint Peter Apostle of San Diego of the Chaldeans, United States of America, H.E. Msgr. Emanuel Hana Shaleta, transferring him from the eparchy of Mar Addai of Toronto of the Chaldeans, Canada.
H.E. Msgr. Emanuel Hana Shaleta
H.E. Msgr. Emanuel Hana Shaleta was born in Fishkabour-Zakho, Iraq, on 12 November 1956.
Following his primary studies in his village, in 1971 he entered the “St. John” minor seminary run by the Dominican Fathers, near Mosul.
In 1977 he was sent to the Pontifical Urbanian University, where he carried out his studies in philosophy and theology.
He was ordained a priest by Pope St. John Paul II on 31 May 1984.
He continued his studies in the faculty of theology of the Urbanian University and obtained a doctorate in biblical theology in 1987.
He transferred to the United States of America, in the Chaldean eparchy of Saint Thomas the Apostle of Detroit, where from 1987 to 2000 he served in the parish of St. Paul, North Hollywood, California; from 2000 to 2002 he was deputy priest of St. Joseph, Troy, Michigan; then, until 2006, he was pastor of the same parish and then parish priest of St. George in Township, Michigan, until 2015.
In 2009, on the twenty-fifth anniversary of his priestly ordination, he received the title of chorbishop.
On 15 January 2015, the Holy Father Francis appointed him as bishop of the eparchy of Mar Addai of Toronto of the Chaldeans, Canada, and he was ordained on 6 February 2015.
He speaks Chaldean, Arabic, Italian and English, and knows Assyrian, Kurdish, French, German, and among the ancient languages, Latin, Hebrew and Greek.