Archbishop Paul Gallagher, the Holy See’s top diplomat, arrived in Islamabad on Thursday for a three-day official visit — the first of its kind — as Pakistan and the Holy See mark 75 years of diplomatic relations.
Archbishop Paul Richard Gallagher, the Holy See’s Secretary for Relations with States and International Organisations, arrived in Islamabad on Thursday for a three-day official visit to Pakistan. The trip is the first ever by the Vatican’s top diplomat to the South Asian nation, according to Pakistan’s Foreign Office. He was received on arrival by Additional Foreign Secretary (Europe) Ambassador Ayesha Ali.
The visit, running from October 8 to 10, comes at the invitation of Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar, who announced it in an official curtain-raiser on Wednesday. It coincides with the 75th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Pakistan and the Holy See, which dates back to 1951.
Three days of meetings
Gallagher’s schedule includes talks with Foreign Minister Dar and a meeting with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif. According to the Foreign Office, the discussions will cover matters of mutual interest, including interfaith harmony, dialogue and peace, as well as regional and international developments.
Beyond the political engagements, the visit has a distinctly pastoral side. The archbishop will meet the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Pakistan, take part in a conference marking the 75th anniversary of bilateral ties, and engage with members of Pakistan’s Catholic community. On Friday, the final day, he will celebrate Mass at the Church of Our Lady of Fatima in Islamabad before visiting the Faisal Mosque and meeting religious leaders, according to Vatican News.
The Foreign Office called the trip “an important milestone in the longstanding relations between Pakistan and the Holy See,” saying it reflects the two sides’ shared commitment to strengthening mutual understanding, cooperation and trust while promoting interfaith harmony and peace.
Why it matters
A first-ever visit by the Vatican’s foreign minister to a Muslim-majority country is a deliberate signal from both sides. For Islamabad, it burnishes an image of a state engaged with global faith diplomacy at a time when it is positioning itself as a mediator in regional tensions. For the Holy See, whose diplomatic service is one of the oldest in the world, it is pastoral outreach to one of South Asia’s Christian minorities.
The symbolism is easy to read: a senior Catholic cleric praying at an Islamabad church on Friday and then walking into the Faisal Mosque, one of the largest mosques in the Muslim world, compresses into a single day the message of dialogue both governments say they want to send.
What’s next
The visit concludes on Saturday, October 10. Any joint statement or announced follow-up initiatives — such as formalised interfaith dialogue mechanisms — would likely emerge after Gallagher’s meetings with Sharif and Dar. For a relationship that has stayed quiet for 75 years, this week is the loudest it has ever been.
