Focus Taiwan
Date: 2018/10/13
By: Huang Ya-shih and Frances Huang
Gandolfo, the Vatican, Oct. 12 (CNA) Vice President Chen Chien-jen (陳建仁) and his
Vice President Chen Chien-jen and his wife Luo Feng-ping pray in front of a statue of the Immaculate Blessed Virgin Mary.
delegation to the Vatican, on Friday received a warm welcome in Castel Gandolfo, Pope Paul VI’s summer residence.
Chen, who led the delegation to the Holy See to attend a ceremony to canonize Pope Paul VI and six others on Sunday, visited the palace as part of his itinerary. They were the only visitors and their visit was perceived as a special arrangement by the palace.
The trip came just after China and the Vatican signed an agreement concerning the appointment of bishops in China. Chen was appointed by President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) as her envoy to the Holy See to strengthen bilateral ties between Taipei and the Vatican.
Castel Gandolfo, about 25 kilometers from Rome, was designated by Pope Urban VIII in 1623 as a summer residence and every pope after him had resided in the palace during the summer before Pope Francis broke the routine in 2013 and opened it to the public in 2016. [FULL STORY]