Pope Leo XIV has appointed Father Paweł Janusz Kubiak as the new head of the Catholic representation of the Vatican in Turkmenistan. This was reported by the Fides news agency.

The Pope accepted the resignation request of the former head of the representation, Father Andrzej Madej. He has been succeeded by Father Paweł Janusz Kubiak, who previously served in administrative positions at the representation in Turkmenistan.

Andrzej Madej had served as the head of the Catholic representation in Turkmenistan since 1997. He completed his diplomatic mission in Ashgabat in June 2025. Thus, his period of service in Turkmenistan lasted for nearly 28 years.

The new head of the representation, Paweł Janusz Kubiak, was born on February 8, 1974, in the city of Turek, Poland. In 1994, he joined the Congregation of the Oblates and completed his initial clerical training in Święty Krzyż a year later.

Kubiak took his perpetual religious vows in 1999. In 2001, he was ordained as a priest in the Polish city of Obra.

In the early years of his pastoral ministry, Paweł Janusz Kubiak worked in representations belonging to the Polish congregation located in Ukraine and Russia. Until his arrival in Turkmenistan in 2023, he performed various service duties in those locations.

The appointment of the new head to the Catholic representation in Turkmenistan marks a new phase in continuing religious and humanitarian relations between the Vatican and Turkmenistan.