Pope Leo XIV last week blessed Taiwanese newlyweds during a public appearance in Rome, while lauding missionary work in Taiwan and pledging to pray for peace in the nation.
Chen Ssu-ying (陳思穎) and Wu Chun-chien (吳君健) met the pope on Wednesday during the weekly Papal Audience, the Embassy of the Republic of China (Taiwan) to the Holy See wrote on Facebook on Saturday.
The pope smiled warmly upon hearing they were from Taiwan, it said.
Photo: Screen grab from the the Embassy of the Republic of China (Taiwan) to the Holy See’s Facebook page
The pope praised the missionary work of Taiwan’s Chinese Regional Bishops’ Conference and the local Catholic Church, and promised to pray for “no wars” for the nation, it said.
Chen, who works at the Commission of Evangelization Chinese Regional Bishops’ Conference, visited Rome to attend the Global 2033 International Leaders’ Summit and the G33 Women of Influence Summit. Global 2033 is an international preaching movement led by the Catholic Church.
Taiwanese churches have sent delegates to attend Global 2033 summits for two consecutive years, in an effort to increase Taiwan’s interaction with global gospel movements, the post quoted Chen as saying.
At the end of this year’s summit, 171 representatives from more than 70 nations prayed for Taiwan, repeatedly saying that “Taiwan will be safe,” which moved everyone present and showed her the valuable friendships Taiwan has around the world, she said.
In the post, Wu encouraged Taiwanese Catholics to consider visiting Rome for their honeymoon and explained how couples can receive a papal blessing.
Tickets for the Papal Audience, held every Wednesday, are available on the Vatican’s Web site, he said.
To be eligible for the blessing, couples must have been married for less than two months and married in a Catholic church, Wu said.
They should provide a sacramental marriage certificate from their diocese, purchase tickets marked “newlyweds” and wear their wedding attire, he said.
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