Pope Francis has appointed Archbishop Marek Zalewski as the first papal nuncio to Vietnam, the Vatican announced on December 23.
| Archbishop Marek Zalewski has been appointed Papal Nuncio to Vietnam. Photo: Vietnam Episcopal Council |
The Archbishop, who entered the diplomatic service of the Holy See in 1995, has worked in many countries. In 2018, he was appointed Apostolic Nuncio to Singapore and a non-resident Papal Representative in Vietnam.
During his tenure as a non-resident Papal Representative in Vietnam, he visited and carried out pastoral activities in almost all dioceses of the Catholic Church in Vietnam. He also met with representatives of ministries, sectors and administrations of localities throughout the country.
Vietnam and the Vatican have made progress in bilateral relations, especially since the establishment of the regular dialogue mechanism of their Joint Working Group in 2009. Since then, many meetings and discussions have taken place between Vietnamese leaders and the Holy See, most recently the meeting between Vietnamese President Vo Van Thuong and Pope Francis in 2023.
Pope Benedict XVI and Pope Francis have sent allocutions and messages to the Catholic Church in Vietnam, emphasizing the spirit of living as "good Catholics and good citizens" and encouraging Catholics to lead a good secular and religious life and actively contribute to local and national socio-economic development.
In particular, at the 10th meeting of the Joint Working Group between Vietnam and the Holy See in March 2023, the two sides agreed in principle on the status of the Papal Representative and the Office of the Papal Representative in Vietnam. This status was approved during President Thuong's visit to the Holy See in July 2023.
These steps mark an important step forward in bilateral relations and are the result of a process of active exchange of views in a spirit of mutual respect, cooperation and understanding. They also reflect the consistent policy of the Vietnamese State to respect and guarantee the right to freedom of religion or belief and to create favorable conditions for religious activities.
