Cardinal Joseph Zen arrived in Rome this week to take part in the first extraordinary consistory of cardinals convened by Pope Leo XIV, marking a rare public appearance by the 93-year-old bishop emeritus of Hong Kong, whose freedom of movement has been sharply curtailed since his arrest under Hong Kong’s National Security Law.
The Holy Father received Cardinal Zen in a private audience on the morning of the consistory, regarded as symbolically significant given the cardinal’s long and often strained relationship with the previous pontificate.
