Pope Francis tapped Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle to represent him as his special envoy.
The former Manila archbishop will serve as the Holy Father's special representative to the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) National Eucharistic Congress (NEC) in June.
In a statement released by the Vatican, it stated, "The Holy Father has appointed His Eminence Cardinal Luis Antonio G. Tagle, pro-prefect of the Dicastery for Evangelization, as his special envoy to the National Eucharistic Congress of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, to be held in Lubumbashi from June 4 to 11, 2023."
The 2023 NEC will be the Central African country's third event.
The event was intended to take place in June 2020, but it was pushed back owing to the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) pandemic.
The first NEC was held in Kisantu in 1933, followed by the second conference in Kinshasa in 1980.
It should be noted that Pope Francis paid a pastoral visit to the Congo from January 31 to February 3.
Meanwhile, Tagle also served as the Pope's special envoy to the Federation of Asian Bishops' Conferences (FABC) 50th General Conference in Bangkok, Thailand, in October last year.
