Fr. Simon Esshaki is a Chaldean Catholic priest who currently serves as the pastor of St. Michael’s Chaldean Catholic Church.

Fr. Simon was born here in San Diego, CA, where he attended Valhalla High School in El Cajon, CA. Upon his high school graduation, Fr. Simon felt God’s calling to priesthood and immediately joined the Seminary of Mar Abba the Great.

During his time at seminary, Fr. Simon studied Aramaic and obtained his bachelors in philosophy at St. John Paul the Great University in Escondido, CA. After completing his philosophical studies, he enrolled at the well-respected Augustine Institute where he obtained his master’s in theological studies in 2015.

Fr. Simon was ordained a priest on April 10th, 2015, and is currently in the process of becoming a Canon lawyer as he is in the JCL program at the Catholic University of America. He is fluent in three languages: English, Arabic and Aramaic.