Portal:Iraq/Selected biography

Archbishop Mar Paulos Faraj Rahho was the Chaldean Catholic Archeparch of Mosul, in the northern part of Iraq. He was born into an ethnic Assyrian family and lived almost his entire life in Mosul, Iraq. Rahho came to worldwide attention in 2008 when he was kidnapped by gunmen and subsequently found dead in Mosul, an event that drew condemnation from the Vatican and foreign governments.

After his ordination as a priest on June 10, 1965 he briefly worked in Baghdad before being appointed to St. Isaiah's Church in Mosul. Between in 1976, Rahho completed his religious studies in Rome. Rahho later founded the church of the Sacred Heart in Tel Keppe. He also opened an orphanage for handicapped children there. On 12 January 2001, he was elected archbishop of the Archeparchy of Mosul.

Late on 29 February 2008 Archbishop Rahho was kidnapped and his bodyguards and driver were killed. The kidnappers demanded Christians contribute to the jihad, through jizya. The captors also demanded the release of Arab (Non-Iraqi) detainees and that they be paid three million dollars for Rahho's release. The kidnappers also demanded that Iraqi Christians form a militia to fight the US forces.

On 13 March 2008, the Archbishop's body had been found buried in a shallow grave near Mosul. An official of the morgue in Mosul said the archbishop, who had health problems, including high blood pressure and diabetes, might have died of natural causes. Police at the Mosul morgue said the Archbishop "appeared to have been dead a week and his body bore no bullet wounds".

Archbishop Paulos Faraj Rahho is believed to be the highest-ranking Chaldean Catholic clergyman to have been killed in the current Iraq war. The funeral services were held in the town of Karamlesh, with Chaldean Catholic Cardinal Emmanuel Delly in presence.