Ministry in Taipei

We conducted a mission to Taiwan in 2018 and much of that venture was focused on a university in Taichung. We planned to return soon and pioneer other areas; however, the Covid pandemic sealed off the possibilities for several years. We were happy to resume our efforts with this journey. Our goal and prayer was to reach out in several areas of the country and to explore new contacts, which would hopefully open doors for future outreach. The results were more than we hoped for! Early in the planning stages of this mission, we were in touch with Fr. Vincent Balsan and Fr. Khohi Mbwi via Zoom. As we discussed the church in Taiwan, they identified the greatest needs for teaching today to focus on the call to mission and evangelization, the role of the family as the domestic church, and the problem of population decline in their society due to abortion and the low live birth rate.

Our mission began in Taipei where Fr. Vincent Balsan is a French missionary priest serving as the parish priest of Our Lady of Songshan Catholic Church. While we were there, we presented on mission and the pro-life message. The events were attended by representatives from other key ministries in the diocese, including several priests and Bishop Emeritus James Liu Tan Kuei from the neighboring Diocese of Hsinchu. We received invitations from several other ministries who wanted to speak with us and discuss possibilities for further outreach in the future.

Religious Sisters

In Taipei, we were blessed to meet sisters from the Servants of the Lord and the Virgin of Matará (SSVM), a religious congregation known for its missionary work and dedication to life issues across Asia. We spent some time with the sisters from the contemplative branch of this religious family. They were keenly interested in our missionary endeavors, as their community diligently prays for missions. They promised to pray for the continuing work of Renewal Ministries.

Taiwan Catholic Regional Seminary

We also had the privilege of speaking to the seminarians at the Taiwan Catholic Regional Seminary. Native vocations are lacking in Taiwan. There are nine seminarians total, and five of them just beginning their formation. We were asked by the rector Fr. Peter to speak on missions and the essential elements of evangelization as they prepared for their first street evangelization outing. We shared a video of our work in other countries and then Tom spoke on the importance of integrating the Kerygma into all aspects of ministry.

Annunciation Parish

As a result of our ministry in Taipei, we were invited to meet with Fr. Jean Francios Marie Lei Gal at Annunciation Parish in the Diocese of Hsinchu. He has built a tremendous ministry promoting the sanctity of life. The center at Annunciation Parish features a special chapel and a post-abortion healing ministry. Fr. Lei Gall scheduled us to present a retreat, which he will organize on our next 2026 mission to Taiwan.

Outreach to Southern Taiwan 

We began the final outreach of our mission by traveling to the southern city of Koahsiung. We immediately visited with Archbishop Peter Liu Cheng-Chung. We discussed the work of Renewal Ministries and the various topics we had presented the last few days. Jean Marie showed them the fetal models, and they marveled at these visual aids. This led to a discussion of the teaching being done in the diocesan Catholic schools. The archbishop stated that the schools were teaching about the sanctity of life, but it was not enough and largely ineffective. He said that they need more intensive teaching and suggested the possibility of bringing together all the teachers in the diocese who are involved in teaching this topic. He also suggested we might return and do the presentation.

Ministry in Kaohsiung

In Kaohsiung, we spoke at the Basilica Cathedral of Our Lady of the Holy Rosary, the oldest Catholic church in Taiwan. Fifty people registered for the event, but many more chairs were set up for the overflow that attended. We shared on being missionary-minded, obtaining the promises of God, and living the pro-life message. Having finished in Kaohsiung, we took a train to the Southeastern coast of Taitung where we concluded our mission.

Going Forward

Taiwan is very much a missionary country with less than 1% of the population being Catholic and less than 3% Christian. The Catholic population has been decreasing for the past ten years. With a population of 23 million, the birthrate is below 0.5 percent, which is far below the replacement level of 2.1 percent. It continues to decline. Here the words of Jesus resound: “Do you not say, ‘In four months the harvest will be here’? I tell you, look up and see the fields ripe for the harvest.” (John 4:35)