Archbishop Zalewski appointed resident papal representative in Vietnam

Archbishop Marek Zalewski, the apostolic nuncio to Singapore, has been appointed resident papal representative in Vietnam, following an agreement reached during Vietnamese President Vo Van Thuong's visit to the Vatican in July.

The information was announced by Archbishop Nguyen Nang, president of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Vietnam, on Saturday.

Zalewski, a 60-year-old native of Poland, is expected to arrive in Vietnam on January 31.

The Holy See and Vietnam on July 27 reached an agreement on the status of the resident papal representative and the office of the resident papal representative of the Holy See in Vietnam.

The agreement was the fruit of the 10th session of the Vietnam-Holy See Joint Working Group held on March 31 at the Vatican. Following the appointment of Archbishop Zalewski and the establishment the office of the resident papal representative, relations between the Vatican and Vietnam are expected to continue advancing.

Pope Francis is widely expected to visit the Southeast Asian country soon.

Pope Benedict XVI appointed a nonresident papal representative to Vietnam in 2011.

The Vietnamese Catholic Church comprises three ecclesiastical provinces of Saigon, Hue and Hanoi, 27 dioceses, about 3,000 parishes, and over 7.2 million followers, equivalent to 7.2% of the population.