Republic of the Congo–Holy See relations Republic of the Congo–Holy See relations Republic of the Congo–Holy See relations refers to the current relations between the Republic of the Congo and the Holy See. The Catholic Church has considerable influence in the Republic of the Congo as about half of the population identify as Roman Catholic. Although the two states established relations in February 1963, their cooperation has only started to increase recently, with their first major bilateral agreement being signed in early 2017. The Holy See maintains an apostolic nunciature in Brazzaville, while Congo does not yet have any diplomatic or consular mission to Vatican City.
Legal status of the Holy See personality akin to that of states, has led professor Ian Brownlie to define it as a ""sui generis" entity". Moreover, the Holy See itself, while claiming international legal personality, does not claim to be a State. Cardinal Jean-Louis Tauran, former Secretary for Relations with States of the Secretariat of State of the Holy See, has underlined that we must avoid the temptation of assimilating the Holy See and its international action with that of a State, with their thirst for power. For him, the Holy See is unquestionably a sovereign subject of international law but of a predominantly religious nature.