Chaldean Catholic Patriarch Louis Sako of Baghdad has confirmed that he plans to step down when he reaches his 75th birthday in a little less than a year.

All bishops are expected to submit their resignations when they reach 75, although they may remain in office until the Pope chooses to accept their resignation. But that policy does not apply to patriarchs of the Eastern churches.

The Chaldean patriarch, however, has indicated that he will resign. The patriarchate issued a statement that it is “a pity” that a “culture of retiring” has not yet become accepted in the Eastern Catholic churches.

Among the leaders of the Eastern churches in communion with Rome, Armenian Patriarch Raphael Bedros Minassian is 75, Melkite Patriarch Yousef Absi is 76, Syrian Patriarch Ignace Younan is 77, and Maronite Patriarch Bechara Rai is 82. Cardinal George Alencherry, the Major Archbishop of the Syro-Malabar Church, is 77. And Cardinal Lucian Muresan, the Major Archbishop of the Romanian Catholic Church is 91.