Relationship dossier
Vatican City
Democratic Republic of the Congo
Relationship assessment
Substantive ties shaped by a bilateral church-status agreement and papal visits
Vatican City toward Democratic Republic of the Congo
+45The Holy See has maintained diplomatic engagement with the DRC and concluded an agreement with its government concerning the Catholic Church’s legal status and activities. Pope Francis visited the country in 2023, continuing a pattern of papal engagement that includes John Paul II’s 1980 visit.
Democratic Republic of the Congo toward Vatican City
+45The DRC government concluded an agreement with the Holy See concerning the Catholic Church’s legal status and activities in the country. The government also received Pope Francis during his 2023 visit, reflecting active engagement with the Holy See.
Overall relationship
+45The relationship combines a durable religious and diplomatic connection with concrete bilateral arrangements, notably the agreement on the Catholic Church’s status, and high-level engagement through papal visits. These features support a substantially cooperative relationship, though the scope of broader government cooperation is less clear.
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
The Holy See and the Democratic Republic of the Congo maintain substantive ties, including a bilateral agreement on the legal status and activities of the Catholic Church in the DRC. Papal visits, including Pope Francis’s 2023 visit, have also marked the relationship. The large role of the Catholic Church in Congolese society provides an enduring context for engagement.
Key developments
The Holy See and the DRC signed an agreement concerning the legal status and activities of the Catholic Church in the country.
Pope Francis visited the DRC, including Kinshasa.
Pope John Paul II visited the DRC, then known as Zaire.
Major uncertainties
- The scope and implementation of the 2016 agreement are unclear.
- The extent of government-to-government cooperation beyond the agreement and papal visits is uncertain.