El Cajon -- Sarhad Yawsip Jammo, the Bishop who led the Chaldean Eparchy of St. Peter the Apostle for the western U.S. from 2002 until his retirement in 2016, has died at the age of 83. Born in Iraq and later based at St. Peter's Chaldean Cathedral in El Cajon, Bishop Jammo was a noted scholar, author and religious leader who guided the diocese through turbulent times, including wars ravaging his homeland and terrorists targeting Chaldean Christians in Iraq.

The Chaldean Diocese announced on Instagram, "The Eparchy of St. Thomas the Apostle mourns Bishop Sarhad Yawsip Jammo Bishop Mar Sarhad Yawsip Jammo passed from this earthly life and entered eternity on Tuesday, February 4, 2025, in San Diego, California. Let us join in prayer for his soul."

Born to an Assyrian family in Baghdad on March 14, 1941, he went to Rome at age 17, where he obtained master's degrees in theology and philosophy at the Pontifical Urbaniana University. He later earned a Doctor of Philosophy in Eastern Ecclesiastical Studies at Pontifical Oriental Institute with a dissertation titled "The Structure of the Chaldean Mass."

He taught at the University of Notre Dame, the Pontifical Oriental Institute in Rome, and the Catholic University of America in Washington D.C.

He was named pastor of St. John the Baptist Parish in Baghdad, serving there from 1969 to1974.Later he became rector at the Chaldean Patriarchal Seminary in Mosul. In 1977, he came to the United States and served as a pastor at two churches in Michigan.

In 2002, Pope John Paul II created a second Chaldean diocese in the U.S. and appointed Jammo to preside over the Eparchy of St. Peter the Apostle covering the western U.S., a position he held until his retirement in 2016.

He led the diocese through challenging times. In 2010, he led a prayer vigil in El Cajon for Chaldeans including priests massacred in a Baghdad church by terrorists. El Cajon was home to some 40,000 Iraqi Chaldeans at the time.

Bishop Jammo traveled to Washington D.C. in 2014 to meet with political leaders including Congressman Juan Vargas, who introduced a bill to grant asylum for religious minorities persecuted by ISIS in Iraq and raise the cap on refugees from that region to come to the U.S.

Mark Arabo, a Chaldean activist, remembered Bishop Jammo in a Facebook post today, praising Jammo as a "revered and legendary figure in the Chaldean Catholic Church." He added, "Bishop Sarhad was a dear friend, - I cherish the memories we had together- from actively participating in various community gatherings, baptisms, communions, confirmations, weddings, and even our numerous trips to the White House, United Nations and so much more. Together, we created cherished memories and effected significant change at the highest levels of government through our unwavering focus on the well-being of others."

Jammo also championed reconciliation within the church and ecclesiastical renewal. After the Vatican approved a liturgical reform, the St. Peter diocese became the first to implement the reformed mass. Bishop Jammo was also an author and historian who wrote numerous books and other publications on Chaldean Catholic history, language and liturgy.

Bishop Jammo's funeral mass will be held on February 8 at 10 a.m. followed by funeral prayers at 11 a.m. at St. Peter Chaldean Catholic Cathedral, 1627 Jamacha Way, El Cajon. A viewing will be held Feb. 7 from 1 to 8 p.m. at the same location. Bishop Jammo will be buried at Holy Cross Cemetery in San Diego.