President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. on Tuesday welcomed Vatican Secretary for Relations with States and International Organizations Archbishop Paul Gallagher in Malacañan Palace.

Gallagher is on a five-day visit to the Philippines. “It’s a great pleasure to welcome you here in Manila,” President Marcos told Gallagher.

The Vatican official was accompanied by Archbishop Charles J. Brown, Apostolic Nuncio to the Philippines, Monsignor Giuseppe Trentadue, Counsellor of the Apostolic Nunciature in Manila and Monsignor Giuseppe Siviero, Secretariat of the State of the Holy See.

Archbishop Gallagher also met with Foreign Affairs Secretary Enrique Manalo before he paid a courtesy call on the Chief Executive.

President Marcos conveyed his good wishes to His Holiness Pope Francis and highlighted the vibrant diplomatic ties between the Philippines and the Holy See.

The diplomatic relations between the Philippines and the Vatican span 73 years since it was established on April 8, 1951.

Gallagher is set to visit Malaybalay, Bukidnon to participate in the Plenary Session of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) on July 3, according to the Vatican News.

The Archbishop will also celebrate Mass with the bishops in the Abbey of the Transfiguration in Malaybalay on July 4. He will then deliver an address at the Foreign Service Institute (FSI) of the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) on July 5.

Filipinos in the Vatican are composed of clergies, religious workers, lay professionals and domestic workers. Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle, who was appointed as the Prefect of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples on June 5, 2022, is one of the Filipinos working in the Vatican. | PND