Francis Received Cardinal Zen

Francis welcomed Hong Kong Cardinal Joseph Zen, 90, at short notice in a private audience on 6 January.

"It was wonderful. He was so warm!", Zen told AmericaMagazine.org.

Francis received Zen in a reception room on the ground floor of Santa Marta. Maintaining the confidentiality of the conversation, Zen revealed two things he told Francis.

First, he thanked Francis for giving Hong Kong 2021 "a good bishop", Stephen Chow. Francis smiled and quipped, "He's a Jesuit!"

Secondly, Zen told Francis about his ministry as a prison chaplain, whereby he baptised a number of prisoners.

After a while, Francis invited Zen and his accompanying priest to his private suite, where they received gifts, books and rosaries.

Zen takes the plane back to Hong Kong on 7 January because he was only given a passport for five days.

In 2020, Francis refused to receive Zen, which did not help to improve Francis' image.

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