Pope was reason to reopen Vatican embassy

The Government’s decision to reopen the Irish embassy in the Vatican was hugely influenced by the work of Pope Francis and his commitment to ending world poverty, Tánaiste Eamon Gilmore said yesterday.

Just 26 months after the closure of the embassy, Mr Gilmore announced a scaled back, “modest, one-person operation”, at no extra cost to the taxpayer. The office will focus on international development.

It is one of five embassies to be set up. The others are in Bangkok, Jakarta, Zagreb, and Nairobi.