Detroit, Mich., May 5, 2014 / 14:51 pm
Pope Francis has named a Chaldean Catholic priest in Michigan as the next bishop of the Detroit-based Eparchy of St. Thomas the Apostle.
Father Frank Kalabat, a priest born in Kuwait in 1970, will succeed the retiring Bishop Ibrahim Namo Ibrahim.
Bishop-designate Kalabat presently heads the St. Thomas Chaldean Catholic Parish in West Bloomfield, Mich. He also directs the Eparchial Centre for Vocations. He previously served as the deputy priest of Mother of God Church in Southfield, Mich.
He was ordained a priest in 1995.
The Eparchy of St. Thomas the Apostle has about 105,000 Catholics, 22 priests and 150 permanent deacons.
Pope Francis has also appointed a new apostolic administrator of the Chaldean Catholic Eparchy of Mar Addai, based in Toronto, Canada. Fr. Daoud Baffro will administer the eparchy following the retirement of Bishop Hanna Zora.
The Chaldean Catholic Church is an Eastern-rite Catholic Church in full communion with Rome and headquartered in Baghdad. Many Chaldean Catholics in the U.S. are immigrants from the Middle East.