Shio III Elected Georgian Patriarch at 57, Ending 2-Month Vacancy

12 articles · Updated · Vatican News - English · May 12

Metropolitan Shio of Senaki and Chkhorotsku was elected Catholicos-Patriarch of All Georgia on May 11 and enthroned the next morning at Svetitskhoveli Cathedral.
The succession followed the March 17 death of Ilia II; Shio, 57, had been serving as locum tenens and now also assumes the titles Archbishop of Mtskheta-Tbilisi and Metropolitan of Abkhazia and Bichvinta.
About 1,200 delegates attended the synod session at Tbilisi's Holy Trinity Cathedral, where Elizbar Teimuraz Mujiri formally took the name Shio III.
Cardinal Kurt Koch sent congratulations and urged closer Catholic-Orthodox dialogue, extending Vatican outreach after Pope Leo XIV had written to Shio following Ilia II's death.

Can Shio III unite a polarized Georgia, or will his leadership deepen the divide?

Will Georgia's church now break its silence on the Orthodox world's Ukrainian rift?