ROME – After meeting Vietnamese officials, a top Vatican diplomat has said he will travel to Vietnam this spring as the two countries continue to make significant strides toward rapprochement, and that a papal trip is a likely possibility at some point in the future.

A delegation representing the Communist Party of Vietnam visited the Vatican on Thursday, holding private meetings with Pope Francis, Vatican Secretary of State Italian Cardinal Pietro Parolin, and the Vatican’s Secretary for Relations with States, British Archbishop Paul Gallagher.