From September 20-25, 2026, a high-level delegation from Vietnam’s Ministry of Ethnic and Religious Affairs, led by Minister Nguyen Dinh Khang, paid a working visit to the Vatican and Italy. The delegation included leaders of the Government Committee for Religious Affairs and other units under the ministry, as well as representatives of relevant ministries, agencies and local authorities.

Khang and the delegation met and visited Pope Leo XIV, and held meetings with the Vatican Secretariat of State, the Dicastery for Evangelization, the Dicastery for Communication and Vatican Radio. They also visited several Catholic institutions in Italy.

The high-level Vietnamese delegation held bilateral talks with Italy’s Ministry of the Interior to promote cooperation on ethnic and religious affairs, and visited the Vietnamese Embassy in Italy.

During the trip, Khang met Vietnamese Catholic clergy and religious who are studying or carrying out pastoral work in the Vatican and Italy. The message from the gathering was that every Vietnamese priest and religious serving or studying there can be a cultural and peace ambassador - a bridge helping bring the image of a peaceful Vietnam to the world.

Bridges to a deeper international understanding of Vietnam

The gathering with Vietnamese Catholic clergy and religious studying and carrying out pastoral work in the Vatican and Italy was held at the Foyer Phat Diem guesthouse in Rome.

Father Gioan Tran Manh Duyet, director of Foyer Phat Diem; Father Gioan Dinh Cong Lich, deputy director of the guesthouse and president of the Vietnamese Religious Association in Rome; and Father Giuse Nguyen Tat Thang of the Vatican’s Dicastery for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life welcomed Khang and the delegation from the Ministry of Ethnic and Religious Affairs.

Expressing his pleasure at meeting Vietnamese priests and religious studying and serving in the Vatican and Italy, Khang conveyed greetings on behalf of the delegation and from their homeland to the clergy, religious and Vietnamese Catholic community, describing them as people who share the same roots and Vietnamese heritage.

The minister provided an overview of Vietnam’s socioeconomic situation and the results of the country’s transition to a two-tier local government model. He also highlighted the positive contributions religious organizations have made to socioeconomic development.

Discussing religion and belief in Vietnam, Khang said the country has 17 religious organizations recognized or licensed by the state, with around 27 million followers, accounting for approximately 27% of the population. Religious communities, including Catholics, remain closely connected with other sections of Vietnamese society, he said.

“The Vietnamese Catholic community at home and abroad has a deep religious faith as well as a spirit of patriotism and national solidarity, and is an important and inseparable part of the Vietnamese nation. Catholics have been working alongside other religious communities and those with no religious affiliation to build and develop the country,” Khang said.

According to the minister, every Vietnamese person living abroad carries with them an image of their homeland. For priests and religious studying and carrying out pastoral work in the Vatican and Italy, he said, that mission has particular significance.

“Clergy and religious are not only pursuing journeys of knowledge and faith, but are also cultural and peace ambassadors for Vietnam at the Vatican and within the global Church,” Khang said.

He said that through their spirit of service and Vietnamese cultural identity, priests, religious and members of the Vietnamese Catholic community in the Vatican and Italy can help convey to international friends the image of a peaceful Vietnam that cherishes freedom, a resilient and compassionate Vietnamese people, and a vibrant Catholic community deeply connected to the nation.

Ready to listen, engage and provide support

After hearing from priests and religious at the gathering, Khang said Vietnam’s Party and State have consistently regarded Catholics at home and abroad as an inseparable part of the country’s broader national community.

The Vietnamese state, he said, respects and guarantees freedom of belief and religion for everyone, while facilitating the activities of religious organizations in accordance with the Constitution and law. It also encourages religious communities to contribute their cultural and ethical values and resources to the country’s development.

Khang said this was reflected in the vibrant religious life of the Catholic Church in Vietnam and in the country’s administration of Catholic affairs. Vietnam has around 7.8 million Catholics across 27 dioceses and more than 3,000 parishes, with 8,150 priests and 280 religious orders.

For Vietnamese priests, religious and Catholics in the Vatican and Italy, Khang said the Ministry of Ethnic and Religious Affairs and the Vietnamese Embassy in Italy are ready to listen, engage and provide support so they can pursue their studies and pastoral work with peace of mind.

The minister expressed hope and confidence that Vietnamese priests and religious would continue striving for the best possible results in their studies and pastoral work, comply with the laws of their host country, and preserve the Vietnamese language and national culture.

He also encouraged them to follow the principle of “living the Gospel in the heart of the nation to serve the happiness of the people,” as set out in the Vietnamese Catholic Bishops’ Conference’s 1980 pastoral letter and in guidance from the popes.

Speaking on behalf of Vietnamese clergy and religious studying and carrying out pastoral work in the Vatican and Italy, Father Gioan Tran Manh Duyet thanked Khang and the Ministry of Ethnic and Religious Affairs for their attention and support.

Welcoming Vietnam’s development achievements, Duyet said Vietnamese clergy and religious studying and serving in the Vatican and Italy continue to look toward their homeland and remain conscious of their responsibility to accompany the nation, helping share with international communities the image of a peaceful, developing and culturally distinctive Vietnam.

Sy Hao - Bich Dao