On the morning of March 19 Rome time, President Ma Ying-jeou and Mrs. Ma attended the inauguration mass for Pope Francis. President and Mrs. Ma are leading a delegation from the ROC on a trip codenamed Project Celebration Friendship. The inaugural mass was held at 9:30 a.m. at St. Peter's Square, with representatives from over 130 nations and religious devotees from throughout the world gathering in the square to witness this historic moment.
In the afternoon, President Ma visited the Embassy of the ROC to the Holy See, where he explained to the media what has been achieved on this trip. In remarks, the president commented that he arrived at the square at about 8:30 a.m. Prior to the formal commencement of the ceremonies, the president interacted with the heads of states and special envoys of many nations, some of which are our diplomatic allies, and some not. President Ma said that he saw old friends and also made new ones, and that his encounters with the other leaders occurred quite naturally and by chance. The president stated that he did not have any specific plans on who he would meet before attending the event. "I just went with the flow, and didn't make any particular effort to see this or that person," he said.
President Ma remarked that the mass was held at 9:30 a.m. under clear blue skies. After the conclusion of the proceedings at 11:30 a.m., Pope Francis began receiving heads of state and their spouses. President and Mrs. Ma met with Pope Francis at about 11:55 a.m. and the two conversed for about one minute. Pope Francis is generally said to be conversant in Italian, Spanish, and German, and while some thought that the pope may also be able to speak English, no one could confirm this detail ahead of time, so the president prepared a congratulatory message in Spanish. After he finished delivering the Spanish greetings, however, he asked Pope Francis whether he could speak English and the pope responded that he could. President Ma then repeated the congratulatory message in English.
President Ma stated that he introduced himself to the pope and explained that he and his wife made this trip to congratulate the pope on his inauguration. The president also pointed out the contributions to Taiwan made by members of the clergy from Argentina. President Ma also mentioned that the pope was even more enthusiastic and spirited than he had expected, adding that the pope maintained a smile the entire time that the two interacted. He said that he felt the pope to be extremely gracious during their conversation.
The president stated that about 31 heads of state attended the inauguration ceremonies for the pope. Together with deputy heads of state, premiers, and other envoys, over 130 countries were represented at the event. As the representatives were seated in alphabetical order based on the English names of their countries, representatives from Chile and Costa Rica sat on either end of President and Mrs. Ma, he said.
President Ma praised ROC Ambassador to the Holy See Larry Yu-yuan Wang (王豫元) for his efforts over the years in promoting bilateral relations. He also expressed his belief that improved cross-strait relations help to create a virtuous cycle with respect to the ROC's relations with the international community. For instance, he noted, the Vatican places great importance on humanitarianism, charitable activities, and alleviating poverty. Mainland China, he said, also regularly engages in such work. If the ROC continues to promote work in this direction, the two sides of the Taiwan Strait can help each other in the international community and provide mutual support. He expressed his confidence that this will have positive meaning for cross-strait relations and the international community.