Chaldeans And Assyrians In The United States

St. Thomas Assyrian Chaldean Catholic Church

* CLERGY * HISTORY

CLERGY

Fr. Kamal W. Bidawid - Fr. Bidawid was born in Mosul , Iraq on November 15, 1943 . He entered the seminary in Mosul in 1958 and was ordained a priest on June 2, 1968 in Baghdad .

Fr. Bidawid served in the Diocese of Zakho, Iraq from 1968 to 1972. He traveled to Rome to continue his studies and after two years earned a master's degree in theology. Returning to Zakho, he served in the diocese until 1977. That same year, he was transferred to Baghdad where he taught in the seminary. He also was assigned advisor to the diocese, judge in the church tribunal, and secretary of a special convention called by the patriarch.

In 1993 he was transferred to the St. Thomas the Apostle Diocese in the United States, and on September 17, 1994 Fr. Bidawid was appointed as pastor of St. Thomas Assyrian Chaldean Church in Turlock , California.

HISTORY

• 1960: Parish established by Fr. Ishai Joseph.
• May 24, 1964: Church building dedicated.
• 1966: Msgr. Ablahad Najjor assigned as pastor.
• 1981: Fr. Francis Dawood assigned as pastor.
• 1983: Church hall completed.
• 1985: School for religious activities added.
• 1988: Fr. Dawood passes away.
• 1990: Fr. Sabri Matti appointed pastor.
• Sept. 1994: Fr. Kamal W. Bidawid appointed pastor; he remodeled the Church, erecting Babylonian-style towers and dome.
• Dec. 2002: Fr. Bidawid purchases 10 acres of land to build a new church.