TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – Taiwan’s new ambassador to the Holy See, Anthony Ho (賀忠義), presented his credentials to Pope Leo XIV on Thursday.

The Vatican is the country’s only diplomatic ally in Europe. President Lai Ching-te (賴清德) sent former Vice President Chen Chien-jen (陳建仁) to attend the April 26 funeral of Pope Francis and Leo's May 18 inauguration.

While Ho arrived in Rome before the inauguration, he only presented his letter of credence to the new pontiff on Thursday. He passed on greetings from Lai and other government leaders to Pope Leo, who said he would pray for Taiwan, per CNA.

The new ambassador said that as a Catholic himself, he was also greeting Pope Leo on behalf of the church and its leaders and members in Taiwan. Ho said he told the pontiff about Taiwan’s democracy, freedom of religion, dialogue between religions, and its desire to lend a helping hand to other countries during wars and disasters.

The ambassador also mentioned the donation of medical equipment to Peru during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. At the time, the pontiff, who was serving as bishop of Chiclayo in the South American country, was the one to accept the donation from Pingtung County Commissioner Pan Men-an (潘孟安), who is now presidential secretary-general.