President Lai sends birthday greetings to Pope Leo XIV

Taipei, Sept. 15 (CNA) President Lai Ching-te (賴清德) has sent greetings from the Taiwan government and people to Pope Leo XIV on his 71st birthday, which was on Sept. 14, according to Taiwan's embassy in the Holy See.

In the message, Lai commended Pope Leo for his "steadfast leadership" and expressed admiration for his "tireless efforts to promote world peace and mutual understanding through dialogue," the embassy said in a social media post on Monday.

In particular, the pope's vision of "hope" and "solidarity" has touched the hearts of millions around the world, Lai said in the birthday message to Pope Leo, which the Taiwan embassy said it had forwarded to the Holy See's Secretariat of State.

"Taiwan is committed to continuing to work with the Holy See for the well-being of all peoples and advance our common goals of alleviating suffering and defending human rights," Lai wrote, according to the embassy.

Pope Leo XIV, who turned 71 on Monday, was elected in May 2025 as the 267th head of the Catholic Church and the leader of the Holy See, which is the Republic of China's (Taiwan) only diplomatic ally in Europe.

Formal bilateral diplomatic relations were established in 1942, when the Republic of China government was still based in mainland China.