For the first time in seven years, the Vatican met with leaders of the Republic of Vietnam to discuss strengthening bilateral relations.
I'm happy.
Pope Francis held a private meeting with Vietnam's President, Vo Van Thuong. The two exchanged gifts, which included a Vietnam-made ceramic vase from their delegation, depicting St. Peter's Square.
The meeting resulted in the Holy See now, for the first time in history, having a resident papal representative in the country.
While official diplomatic ties have yet to be established, Vietnam is the only Asian communist country to have a representative of the Vatican. The majority Buddhist country is home to around 7 million Catholics, making up about 7% of the population.
After the meeting, the President met with Vatican Secretary of State, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, and Archbishop Gallagher, Secretary for Relations with States and International Organizations.
The installation of a resident papal representative in Vietnam represents a step forward in potentially establishing official diplomatic ties in the future.
AT
