Pope Leo XIV affirms his desire to visit Vietnam

(Chinhphu.vn) - Vice President Vo Thi Anh Xuan conveyed the invitation from Vietnamese leaders to the Pope and leaders of the Holy See to visit Vietnam in the near future. Thanking the invitation from Vietnamese leaders, Pope Leo XIV affirmed his desire to visit Vietnam to show his closeness to the Catholic Church and Vietnamese Catholics as well as to strengthen the Vietnam - Vatican relationship.

During her working visit to Italy, at the Vatican, VicePresident Vo Thi Anh Xuan paid a courtesy visit to Pope Leo XIV - Photo: BNG

On June 30, 2025, within the framework of a working visit to Italy (June 29 - July 1), at the Vatican, Vice President Vo Thi Anh Xuan paid a courtesy visit to Pope Leo XIV.

Pleased to meet Vice President Vo Thi Anh Xuan, Pope Leo XIV said that although he had not been in office for long, he had been informed about the good development of Vietnam - Vatican relations in recent times, and that the two sides had upgraded their relationship to the level of Permanent Representative of the Holy See in Vietnam. The Pope hoped that the two sides would increase exchanges, especially through the Vietnam - Vatican Joint Working Group mechanism, to further develop bilateral relations, meeting the expectations of the Catholics as well as the interests of Vietnam and the Vatican.

Vice President Vo Thi Anh Xuan and the Vietnamese delegation with Pope Leo XIV - Photo: BNG

On behalf of the leaders of the Party and State of Vietnam, Vice President Vo Thi Anh Xuan congratulated the Pope on being elected by the Cardinals as Pope of the Vatican; affirmed that Vietnam attaches importance to and is ready to promote relations with the Holy See. Appreciating the instructions, instructions and messages of the Popes to the Vietnamese Church, the Vice President asked Pope Leo XIV to continue to support and pay attention to promoting the good relations between Vietnam and the Holy See; guide and encourage the Vietnamese Catholic community to well implement the guidelines of "Respecting God, loving the country", "living a good life, living a good religion", actively contributing to the cause of national development with the spirit of "The Vietnamese Church accompanies the nation", "A good Catholic must also be a good citizen", "Living the gospel in the heart of the nation to serve the happiness of compatriots".

On this occasion, Vice President Vo Thi Anh Xuan conveyed the invitation of the Vietnamese leaders to the Pope and the leaders of the Holy See to visit Vietnam in the near future. Thanking the invitation of the Vietnamese leaders, Pope Leo XIV affirmed his desire to visit Vietnam to show his closeness to the Catholic Church and Vietnamese Catholics as well as to strengthen the Vietnam - Vatican relationship.

Vice President Vo Thi Anh Xuan meets with Vatican Foreign Minister Paul Richard Gallagher - Photo: BNG

* On the same day, Vice President Vo Thi Anh Xuan also had a meeting with Vatican Foreign Minister Paul Richard Gallagher.

Informing about the positive results achieved in the meeting with Pope Leo XIV, Vice President Vo Thi Anh Xuan suggested that the two sides maintain the effective mechanism of the Vietnam - Vatican Joint Working Group; the Permanent Representative of the Holy See in Vietnam continues to actively cooperate with Vietnamese ministries, sectors and localities in the process of carrying out its pastoral mission, and at the same time, Vietnam will continue to facilitate pastoral visits of the Permanent Representative of the Holy See in Vietnam. The Holy See encourages the Catholic Church in Vietnam to well implement the guideline of "Respecting God, loving the country", actively contributing to the cause of national development.

Congratulating Vietnam on its socio -economic achievements, Minister Paul Richard Gallagher expressed his delight at the new developments in Vietnam-Vatican relations and highly appreciated Vietnam's religious policies. Agreeing with the Vice President's proposals, Minister Gallagher affirmed that the Vatican will make efforts to promote relations between the two sides and is ready to cooperate with Vietnam to organize high-level visits.

At the meeting, the two sides also discussed a number of regional and international issues of mutual concern./.

BNG

Source: https://baochinhphu.vn/giao-hoang-leo-xiv-khang-dinh-mong-muon-tham-viet-nam-102250701074014026.htm