Archbishop Marek Zalewski. — Photo courtesy of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Việt Nam

HÀ NỘI — His Holiness Pope Francis has appointed Archbishop Marek Zalewski as the permanent Vatican representative in Việt Nam.

The decision was announced on Saturday evening (Việt Nam’s time).

Archbishop Marek Zalewski was born on February 2, 1963 in Augustów, in the Łomża diocese, Poland.

He studied philosophy at the Major Seminary of Łomża (1983 - 1985) and Theology at the Major Seminary of Florence, Italy (1985 - 1989).

On May 27, 1989, he was ordained a priest at the Cathedral of St Michael the Archangel in Łomża.

From 1989-1991, he was assistant priest of St. Mary Parish of the Archdiocese of Florence.

After that, the Archbishop studied at the Pontifical Gregoriana University and graduated with a doctorate in Canon Law in 1995.

He also attended language courses of the Holy See Diplomatic School.

In July 1995, Archbishop Marek Zalewski began participating in the diplomatic service of the Holy See and went through many missions such as Holy See nunciature in the Central African Republic (1995-1998), diplomatic mission to the United Nations in New York (1998-2001) and Apostolic Nunciature in England (2001 - 2004).

Pope Francis on March 25, 2014, appointed him titular Archbishop of Africa (now Tunisia) and apostolic nuncio to Zimbabwe.

In 2018, the Archbishop was appointed as Apostolic Nuncio to Singapore concurrently holding the position of the Holy See's non-resident Special Envoy to Việt Nam.

During his time as non-resident Special Envoy to Việt Nam, in coordination with Vietnamese authorities, Zalewski visited and carried out pastoral activities in most dioceses of the Catholic Church in Việt Nam and met with representatives of ministries, branches and local authorities throughout the country.

On the same day, Archbishop Joseph Nguyễn Năng, President of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of Việt Nam, sent a letter to the Catholic community announcing the good news about Archbishop Marek Zalewski.

Vietnamese President Võ Văn Thưởng visited the Vatican July this year and the two sides agreed on the working regulations of the Holy See’s Resident Representative and office of the Holy See’s Resident Representative in Việt Nam. — VNS