September 16, 2025
HANOI – The 12th meeting of the Việt Nam–Holy See Joint Working Group took place recently in Vatican City, discussing the bilateral relations and the current situation of the Catholic Church in the Southeast Asian country.
The event was co-chaired by Vietnamese Deputy Foreign Minister Lê Thị Thu Hằng and Under-Secretary for Relations with States of the Holy See Monsignor Mirosław Wachowski.
Both sides acknowledged the positive contributions of the Church to the overall development of Việt Nam, in the spirit of living out the Gospel in the world by being good Catholics and good citizens.
They expressed their delight over the progress in their bilateral relations since the 11th meeting, which took place in Hà Nội in May 2024, including through regular engagement and consultations, exchanges of delegations at various levels, especially at the high level, as well as the activities of the Resident Papal Representative in Hanoi Archbishop Marek Zalewski.
The two sides laid stress on the importance of further advancing ties through continued high-level exchanges and agreed to maintain regular sessions of the Joint Working Group.
The meeting took place in an atmosphere of friendship, trust and mutual respect.
On the occasion of the visit to the Vatican, the Vietnamese delegation was received by His Holiness Pope Leo XIV, and paid courtesy calls to the Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin, and to the Secretary for Relations with States and International Organisations, Archbishop Paul Gallagher.