On September 13, 2025, Pope Leo XIV received members of the “Vietnam-Holy See Joint Working Group.” This group is tasked with preparing for the establishment of formal diplomatic relations between the two countries. Its 12th meeting was held at the Vatican on September 12. In a joint statement released by the Holy See Press Office, the participants highlighted the “progress” made recently and called for “further promoting their bilateral relations.”
Relations between the two have been improving for more than a decade, with Cardinal Pietro Parolin playing an important role even before he was a cardinal.
This new session took place “in an atmosphere of friendship, trust, and mutual respect,” the statement said. The previous meeting took place in Hanoi in 2024. The Holy See has had a “resident papal representative”—rather than a nuncio—in that city since 2023 in the person of Archbishop Marek Zalewski. Both sides praised his role in intensifying exchanges between their countries.
While this meeting at the Vatican did not lead to any visible diplomatic developments, the statement nevertheless referred to “progress” and highlighted the “positive contributions of the Church to the overall development of Viet Nam, in the spirit of living out the Gospel in the world by being good Catholics and good citizens.”
Cardinal Parolin following the process closely
At the Vatican, the members of the bilateral working group also paid a courtesy visit to Cardinal Secretary of State Pietro Parolin. Cardinal Parolin had represented the Vatican at the group's first meeting, held in February 2009 in Hanoi. At that time he was the undersecretary for relations with states. This led, in 2011, to the appointment of a non-resident papal representative, at the time the nuncio to Singapore.
Pietro Parolin, who became Secretary of State to Pope Francis in 2013 and then cardinal in 2014, has continued exchanges with the Vietnamese authorities over the last decade. This cardinal diplomat is a disciple of Cardinal Agostino Casaroli, Pope John Paul II’s secretary of state. This means that, as in the case of relations with Xi Jinping's China, he favors appeasement and focuses on establishing a relationship of trust with the Vietnamese authorities. This strategy sometimes earns him criticism, with some believing that the Church concedes too much to the demands of socialist governments.
Despite the absence of formal diplomatic relations, several agreements have been signed to ensure the continuity of the episcopal hierarchy and to revive the activities of the local Catholic Church. After the fall of Saigon in 1975, the communist regime cracked down hard on the Church, accusing it of supporting the United States during the Vietnam War. Since the early 2000s, however, Vietnam has seen a spectacular rebound in priestly and religious vocations.
New progress under Pope Leo XIV?
Vietnam, a country of nearly 104 million people, has never hosted a visit from a pope. Its Catholic community, fervent but small, accounts for about 7% of the population. The Vietnamese state was represented at both the funeral of Pope Francis and the inaugural Mass of Pope Leo XIV's pontificate by its ambassador to Italy, Duong Hai Hung.
On July 25, Leo XIV sent a video message to Vietnamese catechists on the occasion of the 400th anniversary of the birth of Blessed Andrew of Phú Yên (1625-1644). This young catechist, martyred at the age of only 19 during a persecution ordered by the king of Annam, was beatified by John Paul II on March 5, 2000. “The Church rejoices in having you and encourages you to walk joyfully in this noble mission,” the Pope said.
