Relationship dossier
Vatican City
South Sudan
Relationship assessment
Diplomatic ties with notable Holy See engagement in South Sudanese peace efforts
Vatican City toward South Sudan
+35The Holy See has pursued peacebuilding engagement concerning South Sudan, including hosting a 2019 spiritual retreat for the country's leaders and arranging Pope Francis's 2023 visit.
South Sudan toward Vatican City
+35South Sudan established diplomatic relations with the Holy See in 2011 and participated in the 2019 Vatican retreat for South Sudanese leaders. The country also received Pope Francis during his 2023 visit.
Overall relationship
+35The relationship combines formal diplomatic ties with high-level Holy See engagement in South Sudan's peace process, including the 2019 leaders' retreat and the 2023 papal visit. These are substantial cooperative initiatives, although the scope of wider bilateral activity is uncertain.
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 South Sudan established diplomatic relations in 2011. The Holy See has engaged in peace efforts, including hosting a 2019 spiritual retreat for South Sudanese leaders and the 2023 papal visit to South Sudan. These initiatives reflect meaningful diplomatic and peacebuilding engagement, though the breadth of routine bilateral cooperation is less clear.
Key developments
The Holy See and South Sudan established diplomatic relations.
Pope Francis hosted South Sudanese leaders for a spiritual retreat at the Vatican, with the Archbishop of Canterbury and the Moderator of the Church of Scotland also participating.
Pope Francis visited South Sudan as part of an apostolic journey that also included the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Major uncertainties
- The scope of routine diplomatic and development cooperation is unclear.
- The extent to which peacebuilding initiatives have produced sustained bilateral programs is unclear.