TAIPEI (UCAN) -- On the 50th anniversary of his priesthood, retiring Archbishop Joseph Cheng Tsai-fa installed his successor, Archbishop John Hung Shan-chuan, as head of Taipei archdiocese.

Taiwan's Vice President Annette Lu came to Immaculate Conception Cathedral to congratulate the 64-year-old Archbishop Hung before Mass started on Nov. 25. Lu had attended Archbishop Hung's episcopal ordination in 2006 as bishop of Chiayi diocese, based 200 kilometers south of Taipei.

Addressing about a thousand people in the cathedral before the installation Mass, she recognized the new archbishop of Taipei for his contribution to the local Church's prison ministry. "Where there are disadvantaged groups, there is the concern of the Catholic Church," Lu said.

Divine Word Archbishop Hung has coordinated the Association of Chinese Catholic Prison Ministry for more than 15 years and has written an education module on morals and ethics for prisoners. The ministry began with about 20 volunteer counselors and has more than 300 today.

Lu also took the opportunity to mention the government's stance on Taiwan-Vatican relations. Calling for the Vatican to take Taiwan's interests into consideration when negotiating ties with mainland China, she said sacrificing Taiwan for the good of mainland Catholics "cannot be God's will."

Cardinal Paul Shan Kuo-hsi, retired bishop of Kaohsiung, 13 active and retired bishops, and 120 priests from Taiwan's seven dioceses concelebrated the installation Mass, which started soon after Lu left. Most in the congregation were from Taipei, but about 150 were from Chiayi.

"Today is the feast of Christ the King. We should dedicate everything to Jesus Christ, our king," Archbishop Cheng said, as he handed his episcopal staff to Archbishop Hung, symbolically completing the succession. The retiring prelate urged the Catholics to pray for their new archbishop, so that the archdiocese will "further develop under his leadership."

Among the guests were the wife of Tou Chou-seng, Taiwan's ambassador to the Holy See, a representative from the Anglican Church, the mayor of Chiayi and Buddhist monk Venerable Ching Yao.

In his homily, Archbishop Hung explained his coat-of-arms, saying the iron chain on the cross could be seen as rosary beads but also symbolizes the prison ministry he has been engaged in. Also embroidered on his vestment were Chinese characters that mean "Truth makes one free."

The new archbishop expressed gratitude to his predecessor, praising him for having worked industriously for the Church, like his patron Saint Joseph, for 50 years.

Archbishop Hung added: "The retired archbishop, Father Hyacinth Wu of Chiayi and seven of their classmates who are celebrating their golden jubilee together today, each has his own legendary story that is closely linked to the life of Jesus."

His homily was followed by a slide show depicting scenes of Archbishop Cheng's life from his youth to the present. This moved the retiring prelate so much that he wiped tears from his eyes several times.

Toward the end of the Mass, Cardinal Shan described Archbishop Hung as "special" among bishops, explaining that the new archbishop was not baptized until he was 19 years old and had also been a catechist.

The cardinal also noted that Chiayi diocese is "rich in natural and human resources," pointing out that three out of Taipei's seven archbishops to date have come from Chiayi.

The Church in Taiwan now has "an entire new look -- all the young bishops are Taiwan-born," he continued, urging them to lead the Church in a new spirit of uniting Catholics and working together to proclaim the Gospel.

In his thanksgiving speech, Archbishop Hung said: "I have come and there is no return. I will go ahead with you all, and there are more opportunities for cooperation in the future."

He appointed Auxiliary Bishop Thomas Chung An-zu of Taipei as his vicar general and thanked three former vicars general for their service. The archbishop also appointed Father Francis King as archdiocesan chancellor.

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(Accompanying photos available at here)