UNITED NATIONS — In a policy reversal that hints at the delicate diplomacy ahead of the visit by Pope Francis, the Vatican’s envoy to the United Nations said on Monday that the flag of the Holy See would be hoisted at the gates here for the first time, just before the pope addresses world leaders.

The Holy See is one of two nonmember observer states at the United Nations. The state of Palestine is the other, and it campaigned vigorously for the right to hoist its flag this year, ultimately winning a General Assembly resolution on Sept. 10, to the dismay of Israel and the United States.

Asked then if the Holy See planned to hoist its own flag, the Vatican ambassador, Archbishop Bernardito Auza, told reporters: “Absolutely not.”