Taiwan envoy attends Pope Leo XIV's inauguration mass, hopes for papal visit

Vatican City, May 18 (CNA) Former Vice President Chen Chien-jen (陳建仁) attended Pope Leo XIV's inaugural mass at Vatican City on Sunday morning as President Lai Ching-te's (賴清德) special envoy to see the new pope installed as leader of 1.4 billion Roman Catholics.

Chen joined more than 100 world leaders and top church officials in St. Peter's Square to witness the event, including United States Vice President JD Vance, President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine, Prime Minister Mark Carney of Canada, and Prime Minister Anthony Albanese of Australia.

They were part of an estimated 250,000 people who packed into St. Peter's Square to welcome the newly elected pope.

Before attending Sunday's ceremony, Chen told CNA on Saturday that he was instructed by President Lai to extend sincere congratulations to Pope Leo XIV on his papacy.

Lai also hoped that diplomatic relations between Taiwan and the Vatican will continue to strengthen as the two allies jointly promote world peace, further social justice, take better care of the underprivileged, and engage in humanitarian works, according to Chen.

While attending a prayer mass in the Vatican earlier Saturday focused on peace and prosperity in Taiwan, Chen also prayed for stronger diplomatic relations between the two and hoped that the new pope could visit Taiwan.

"Of course we also hope one day Pope could visit Taiwan so that all Catholics in Taiwan can feel the love the Pope has toward Taiwan," he said.

If past experience is any guide, the chances of a papal visit are low. During a trip to the Vatican in October 2018 when he was vice president, Chen invited Pope Francis to visit Taiwan, but the invitation was declined.

Meanwhile, Deputy Foreign Minister François Wu (吳志中), who was with Chen on the Vatican trip, told a banquet attended by Taiwanese clergymen in the Holy See on Saturday night that Taiwan's diplomatic relations with the Holy See have "withstood numerous challenges but still managed to thrive over the years."

Pope Leo XIV was elected on May 8 as the 267th head of the Catholic Church and leader of the Holy See to succeed Pope Francis, who passed away in his residence on April 21 at the age of 88. Pope Leo XIV, 69, is the first pope from the United States.

Chen previously served as Lai's envoy at the funeral of Pope Francis held in St. Peter's Basilica in Vatican City on April 25.

On his X page, Lai congratulated Pope Leo XIV on May 9 for his election, saying: "We look forward to building on our diplomatic ties with the Holy See, 83 years strong, to advance peace, justice, solidarity & benevolence."

Taiwan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) has said that Chen was chosen again for his close relationship with the Holy See.

He was appointed an academician of the Pontifical Academy of Sciences in 2021. He has also been invested as a Knight of the Pontifical Equestrian Order of St. Gregory the Great in 2013 and a Knight of the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem in 2010 by the Vatican.

Neither MOFA nor the Presidential Office, however, has elaborated on why Lai did not attend the event in person.

The Holy See is the only diplomatic ally of the Republic of China (ROC), the official name of Taiwan, in Europe. Formal diplomatic ties were established in 1942 when the ROC government was still based in mainland China.

The Vatican's relations with Beijing have warmed, however, since Francis assumed the papacy in 2013.

In 2018, Beijing and the Vatican struck a historic deal to work together on appointing Chinese bishops, which was extended for a third time in late 2024.

Tensions in the relationship have developed since then after Beijing contravened the agreement by unilaterally making the appointments.