Taiwan and the Holy See mark 400 years of ties with H.O.P.E. aid push

Taiwan’s embassy to the Holy See used its National Day reception in Rome to highlight four centuries of Catholic ties and a cooperation model that has reached more than 50,000 people. The event underscored shared values, AI ethics, and future projects with the Catholic Church and faith-based groups.

Why it matters: - Taiwan is using its relationship with the Holy See to pair diplomacy with concrete aid projects. - The embassy says its H.O.P.E. framework has helped more than 50,000 people across education, health, poverty relief, youth care, and women’s empowerment. - The event also tied Taiwan’s partnership with the Catholic Church to broader questions of human dignity, peace, and responsible artificial intelligence.

What happened: - The Embassy of the R.O.C. (Taiwan) to the Holy See held a reception on Oct. 7 at Rome’s Auditorium Conciliazione for Taiwan’s 115th National Day. - More than 200 guests attended, including cardinals, Holy See officials, clergy, diplomats accredited to the Holy See, Taiwanese community members, Italian society representatives, and media. - Cardinal Fabio Baggio gave a blessing and said he hoped cities around the world could become places of fraternity and peace. - Cardinals Giovanni Battista Re and Rolandas Makrickas also attended.

The details: - Ambassador Anthony C. Y. Ho said 2026 carries special meaning because St. Peter’s Basilica was completed in 1626 and Dominican missionaries arrived in Taiwan the same year. - Ho said the Catholic Church has contributed to Taiwan through education, healthcare, social services, and care for vulnerable people. - Ho described the church as a trusted partner of Taiwanese society for four centuries. - Taiwan has continued cooperating with the Holy See and the Catholic Church in Asia and other regions, backing initiatives that support human dignity and people in need. - Ho said the partnership is rooted in freedom, peace, justice, truth, and human rights. - In 2025, the Jubilee Year of Hope, the embassy adopted H.O.P.E. as its cooperation framework: Humanity, Opportunity, Partnership, and Encounter. - The projects covered five areas: education and technology empowerment, health advancement, poverty alleviation, care for children and youth, and women’s empowerment. - The support reached not only Italian Catholic organizations but also groups in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. - A video at the reception showed results of the cooperation and included congratulations and goodwill from Taiwan’s partners in Africa. - Works by Taiwanese artist Hsieh Sheng-Min were displayed, blending Catholic faith with traditional Taiwanese culture.

Between the lines: - The reception presented Taiwan’s Vatican ties as both a historical relationship and a practical platform for humanitarian and cultural outreach. - Ho’s remarks linked Taiwan’s AI policy message with Pope Leo XIV’s encyclical Magnifica Humanitas, which addresses the human and ethical challenges of AI. - Ho said Taiwan remains committed to peace, stability, democracy, economic progress, and technological innovation. - He also connected Taiwan’s position with President Lai Ching-te’s emphasis that AI should uphold ethics, democracy, and inclusion. - The event reinforced Taiwan’s effort to frame cooperation with the Holy See as a values-based partnership that also produces measurable outcomes.

What's next: - Ho said Taiwan will continue working with the Holy See and the Catholic Church and will keep turning H.O.P.E. into action. - The embassy signaled that future cooperation will keep linking aid, cultural exchange, and technology policy. - The reception closed with Ho’s hope that Rome could become a home of friendship, solidarity, and love for the wider world.

The bottom line: - Taiwan used its National Day reception in Rome to celebrate 400 years of Catholic links while positioning the Holy See partnership as a channel for aid, culture, and ethical technology cooperation. - The embassy’s message was clear: shared values are being turned into projects with visible reach across multiple regions.