President William Lai (賴清德) has appointed former vice president Chen Chien-jen (陳建仁) to attend the late Pope Francis’ funeral at the Vatican City on Saturday on his behalf, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said today.
The Holy See announced Francis’ funeral would take place on Saturday at 10am in St Peter’s Square.
The ministry expressed condolences over Francis’ passing and said that Chen would represent Taiwan at the funeral and offer condolences in person.
Photo: Lo Pei-de, Taipei Times
Taiwan and the Vatican have a long-standing and close diplomatic relationship, the ministry said.
Both sides agreed to have Chen represent Taiwan at the funeral, given his Catholic identity and close relationship with Francis, the ministry said.
Chen met with Francis six times and the pope personally awarded him the Pontifical Academy of Sciences membership medal, it said.
Francis was a friend to Taiwan during his time as pope, often receiving presidential envoys to the Vatican to attend important ceremonies, the ministry said.
He also expressed condolences and prayers to the victims of the Hualien earthquake in April last year and cared for the Catholic Church in Taiwan, appointing several Taiwanese bishops, it said.
The ministry said it would continue to deepen relations with the Vatican, strengthen religious exchanges and promoting religious freedoms.
Earlier this morning, Lai paid his respects to Francis during a visit to the Catholic Archdiocese of Taipei.
He offered incense, sprinkled holy water, and presented flowers, fruit and a ceremonial cup, before bowing three times.
The president was accompanied by Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Francois Wu (吳志中) and Archbishop of Taipei Thomas Chung (鍾安住).
Following Pope Francis’ death on Monday, Lai offered his condolences via social media, saying that “we will continue to draw inspiration from [Francis’] lifelong commitment to peace, global solidarity and caring for those in need.”
The Vatican is one of 12 states to maintain formal diplomatic relations with Taiwan and the only one in Europe.
The Holy See and China do not have diplomatic relations, but the two sides signed a historic agreement on the appointment of bishops in China in 2018.
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