HONG KONG (SE): Joseph Cardinal Zen Ze-kiun, the former bishop of Hong Kong was able to attend the funeral of Pope Benedict XVI at St. Peter’s Basilica on January 5. A Hong Kong court had ordered to release of Cardinal Zen’s passport for the purpose of attending the funeral of the pope emeritus who elevated him to the college of Cardinals in 2006. He was accompanied by confrere, Salesian Father Carlos Cheung.
A report by America magazine on January 6 said that after the funeral service of pope emeritus, the cardinal was granted a private audience with Pope Francis at Santa Marta, the pope’s residence in the Vatican on short notice, given the restriction placed on his travel time. Prior to the audience, Cardinal Zen was able visit and pray at the tomb of Benedict XVI in the crypt of St. Peter’s Basilica.
The report quoted Cardinal Zen saying, the audience with the pope was “wonderful, he was so very warm!” The cardinal shared that he thanked the pope for giving Hong Kong “a good bishop,” Bishop Stephen Chow Sau Yan, SJ, who was appointed in 2021. The pope smiled and quipped, “He’s a Jesuit!”
Cardinal Zen shared with Pope Francis about his pastoral ministry visiting prisoners in Hong Kong’s jails, something he been doing for over 10 years. He also told the pope that he has baptised a number of prisoners over the years, when they requested the sacrament. Pope Francis, he said, was “very happy” to hear about this pastoral ministry among the prisoners.
Pope Francis then invited Cardinal Zen and Father Carlos to his private apartment, and there he gave them gifts of books and rosary beads, America reported. The pope showed them a replica of the statue of Our Lady of Sheshan in his room that he was given on his election as the pope. Cardinal Zen told the pope, “I hope you can one day visit the shrine of Sheshan!” The famous Marian shrine of Sheshan on the outskirts of Shanghai, the city where the cardinal was born, is a popular pilgrimage site for many Chinese Catholics.
The cardinal reported that the pope was in great form and full of good humour. The pope insisted on accompanying them to the door as they departed, saying, “I accompany you for two reasons: I want to make sure you go; and secondly, I want to make sure that you do not take anything with you!”
