Archbishop Marek Zalewski as Vatican representative in Vietnam

Archbishop Marek Zalewski, 60 years old, Apostolic Nuncio in Singapore, was appointed by Pope Francis as the permanent representative of the Vatican in Vietnam.

The information was announced by Archbishop Nguyen Nang, President of the Vietnam Bishops' Conference, to Cardinals, Bishops and the Catholic community in Vietnam on December 23. It is expected that a representative of the Vatican will arrive in Vietnam on January 31.

Archbishop Marek Zalewski was born in 1963 in Poland. He studied Philosophy at the Łomża Major Seminary and Theology at the Florence Major Seminary, Italy. In 1989, he was ordained a priest at the Cathedral of St. Michael the Archangel in Łomża.

Bishop Marek Zalewski has just been appointed as the permanent representative of the Vatican in Vietnam. Source: Vietnam Bishops' Conference

From 1989 to 1991, Father Marek Zalewski was an assistant priest of the parish of St. Mary of the Cross in the Archdiocese of Florence. He then studied at the Pontifical Gregorian University, graduating with a doctorate in canon law in 1995; he also attended language courses and programs at the Pontifical Academy of Diplomacy .

In 2014, Father Marek Zalewski was appointed by Pope Francis as titular Archbishop of Africa (now Tunisia) and Apostolic Nuncio to Zimbabwe.

The Vatican is the highest organization of the global Roman Catholic Church, a subject of international law, has the status of a state, and has the right to send representatives and receive diplomatic representatives of other countries.

Vatican City is a territory of the Holy See, with a population of less than 1,000 people, and basic services such as banks, newspapers, train stations, gas stations, hospitals, and post offices. With an area of 0.44 km2, Vatican is the smallest country in the world , consisting of Vatican City, 23 locations in Rome, and 5 locations outside Rome.

The head of the Holy See is the Pope, who reigns for life and has supreme legislative, executive, and judicial power over the Holy See and the universal Roman Catholic Church. The Pope is also the Bishop of Rome.

Previously, on July 27,President Vo Van Thuong visited the Vatican and the two sides approved an agreement on the operating regulations of the Holy See's Permanent Representative in Vietnam.

The two sides assessed the adoption of the Regulations on the activities of the Permanent Representative and the Office of the Permanent Representative of the Holy See in Vietnam as an important step forward. Vietnam affirmed that it would facilitate the activities of the permanent representative. The Pope emphasized that the adoption of the regulations is a model of mutual trust and a basis for further promoting and expanding relations in the future.

During his meeting with Pope Francis, President Vo Van Thuong affirmed that Vietnam implements a policy of respecting and ensuring freedom of belief and religion and is constantly improving the legal framework to facilitate religious activities. The President welcomed the contributions of the Vietnamese Catholic community in charitable activities, education, healthcare, and vocational training.

The Catholic Church in Vietnam consists of three archdioceses: Saigon, Hue and Hanoi, 27 dioceses, two cardinals, 6 archbishops, 41 active bishops, about 3,000 parishes with more than 8,000 priests, 31,400 religious and over 7.2 million parishioners, equivalent to nearly 8% of the population.

Vnexpress.net

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