Relationship dossier
Vatican City
Bulgaria
Relationship assessment
Constructive relations marked by papal visits and recurring high-level engagement
Vatican City toward Bulgaria
+35The Holy See has pursued high-level engagement with Bulgaria, including Pope John Paul II’s 2002 visit and Pope Francis’s 2019 visit, during which he met Bulgarian state officials.
Bulgaria toward Vatican City
+35Bulgarian state officials have engaged with visiting popes, and Bulgarian government delegations have made recurring visits to the Vatican, including around the annual May 24 celebrations.
Overall relationship
+35The relationship is characterized by sustained diplomatic engagement and prominent reciprocal visits, including papal visits to Bulgaria and recurring Bulgarian delegations to the Vatican. The known examples support a constructive relationship, while providing limited insight into the breadth of ongoing cooperation.
How to read these scores
Scores are rough judgments, not objective measurements or current verification. Directional scores describe government policy and conduct, not public opinion. The overall score is an independent estimate, never an average.
- −100
- Extreme sustained hostility
- −50
- Substantially adversarial
- 0
- Mixed or neutral, supported by knowledge
- +50
- Substantially cooperative
- +100
- Exceptionally close sustained partnership
“Not assessed” means there is no recorded score. Pair existence makes no claim about diplomatic recognition or established relations.
Relationship context
Overview
Relations between the Holy See and Bulgaria include high-level engagement and cooperation around papal visits. Pope John Paul II visited Bulgaria in 2002, and Pope Francis visited in 2019, meeting Bulgarian state officials. Bulgarian government delegations have also made recurring visits to the Vatican. These engagements indicate a constructive relationship, though its wider scope is less clear.
Key developments
Pope John Paul II visited Bulgaria and met with state officials.
Pope Francis visited Bulgaria and met with state officials.
Major uncertainties
- The scope of routine bilateral cooperation beyond high-level visits is unclear.