Vice President Chen Chien-jen attended the canonization of five new Roman Catholic saints at the Vatican on Sunday. He extended a greeting from President Tsai Ing-wen to Pope Francis and again invited the pope to visit Taiwan.
Chen, himself a practicing Catholic, said he was honored to have met the pope again. His visit to the Holy See is his third since taking office as vice president in 2016. The vice president said he asked Pope Francis to pray for Taiwan.
Chen also presented two gifts to the pope: a documentary on Matteo Ricci, an influential founding figure in the Jesuit China missions; and a Taiwanese magazine featuring Catholic priests and nuns who are serving in remote areas of Taiwan.
The Vatican is Taiwan’s only official diplomatic ally in Europe.