Ambassador to the Holy See Anthony Ho (賀忠義) on Wednesday attended a Society of the Divine Word (SVD) event in Rome and donated funds to purchase computers for students in the countryside in five African countries.
The donation was aimed at financing the plan to buy 100 computers for Catholic schools in Kenya, Ghana, Angola, Mozambique and Botswana to improve facilities, reduce the digital gap in rural regions and train students on applied information technology, Ho said.
Father Anselmo Ricardo Ribeiro, who received the donation, thanked the government and Taiwanese.
Photo courtesy of the Embassy of the Republic of China to the Holy See
There are strong historical ties between Taiwan and the SVD, Ho said.
“The SVD has made a lot of contributions to Taiwan over the years, most importantly founding Fu Jen Catholic University and sustaining its development, making it a major institution for cultivating talent for Taiwanese society,” he said.
Fu Jen Catholic University is celebrating its centennial this month, and President William Lai (賴清德) attended the anniversary event, while Pope Leo XIV sent a special message, he added.
“Pope Leo describes Fu Jen as holding the unique distinction of being the only institution of higher learning established by the Holy See in the Mandarin-speaking world,” he said.
Over the decades, the university has borne generous fruits by uniting intellectual excellence with its values, the pope said according to the Vatican News.
“In doing so, it has helped form men and women who contribute to society with wisdom, integrity and compassion,” the pope was quoted as saying.
Ho said the cooperation program came up when Taiwanese jubilee youth pilgrims visited the SVD headquarters in July, when he talked with Ribeiro and expressed the wish to respond to Pope Leo’s call to work with youth and education.
The two sides worked together to launch the charity mission and to benefit underprivileged African students, he said.
“Taiwanese are full of love. For years, members of Taiwan’s free and democratic society have participated in humanitarian relief work in many countries,” he added.
Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung’s (林佳龍) Diplomatic Allies Prosperity Project is aimed at collaborating with partners on digital sovereignty and education through new technologies, Ho said.
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