Vatican City (CNA) - A delegation of seven Taiwanese bishops arrived in Rome Tuesday on their way to Vatican City for an ad limina visit, which involves visiting the tombs of the apostles and reporting on work in their dioceses to the Pope.
Taiwan Ambassador to the Holy See Matthew Lee greeted the delegation at the airport and talked briefly with the bishops before they headed to the Vatican.
The seven bishops have not been to the Vatican for 10 years and this is their first ad limina visit during the tenure of Pope Francis who took office in March 2013, Lee said.
While in the Vatican, they will visit several departments of the Roman Curia and receive an audience with the Pope, according to Lee.
The Taiwanese bishops are grateful for the Pope's expressions of solicitude for Taiwan and said while rumors are rife about relations between Taiwan and the Holy See, many are simply without foundation, Lee noted.
In fact, over the past year, the Pope has sent high-ranking Vatican officials to Taiwan to participate in international exchange activities. The Pope has also offered prayers to the people of Taiwan every time there has been a natural disaster, according to Lee.
The bishops thanked Taiwan's government for the importance it attaches to their ad limina visit. President Tsai Ing-wen met with them before they embarked on their mission to the Vatican, Lee said.
Vice President Chen Chien-jen also hosted a dinner to express the government's support for Catholicism and the importance it attaches to Taiwan-Vatican relations.
The delegation has prepared two gifts for the pope -- a Franz Porcelain product based on an artwork by Giuseppe Castiglione, an Italian missionary who served as a Qing court painter and a painting by Taiwanese artist Shen Chen.
The seven bishops are Taiwan Parish Archbishop Hung Shan-chuan, Kaohsiung Archbishop Liu Cheng-chung, Hsinchu Parish Bishop Li Keh-mien, Taichung Bishop Su Yao-wen, Chiayi Bishop Chung An-chu, Tainan Bishop Lin Chi-nan and Hualien Bishop Huang Chao-ming. (By Huang Ya-shih and Evelyn Kao)
