In his general audience, Pope Francis discusses the apostolic zeal of Matteo Ricci, the Jesuit who successfully taught and spread the Gospel in China in the 1500s.

Hong Kong's Roman Catholic bishop arrived in Beijing on Monday, marking the first visit to the Chinese capital by the city's bishop in nearly three decades, despite signs of Sino-Vatican strains.

China has breached its long-fought-for agreement with the Vatican on the appointment of bishops.

In an apparent breach of the Vatican’s agreement with China on the appointment of bishops, the bishop of Haimen was installed as the bishop of Shanghai April 4.

“On this joyful occasion,” Pope Francis said he also wished to express his “spiritual closeness to all those who are going through moments of trial caused by the coronavirus pandemic.”

Though Cardinal Zen is sometimes considered an adversary of Pope Francis, today’s audience reveals that there is a deeper bond of faith and friendliness between the Hong Kong cardinal and the Argentine pope than many realize.