Pope Francis has appointed Archbishop Hubertus Mathews Maria van Megen as an Apostolic Nuncio to South Sudan.

The announcement was made by President of the Conference of Catholic Bishops of the Sudan and South Sudan, Edward Hiiboro Kusala during the laying of foundation stone for the Institute of Peace Justice and Peace Studies at the Catholic University of South Sudan in the capital, Juba Friday.

A Nuncio is an official who represents the Pope in a foreign country.

Also present at the Catholic University event, was Archbishop Paul Richard Gallagher, the secretary for bilateral relations with states.

Bishop Hiiboro appreciated Gallagher for laying a foundation stone for the Justice and Peace Studies Institute at the Catholic University.

The Vatican diplomat planted a tree to commemorate the 10th year anniversary of the Catholic University’s inception in South Sudan.

The Nuncio’s appointment comes barely one week after South Sudan President Salva Kiir visited Pope Francis in Vatican City.

The Vatican said Pope Francis expressed the wish that conditions for a possible visit to South Sudan might be met, as a sign of closeness to the people and encouragement to the peace process.

 In 2017, Pope Francis hoped to make an ecumenical visit to Africa’s youngest nation along with the Anglican Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby. The trip had to be called off because of security reasons.