Amb. and Mrs. Wang (middle, 1st from right) greet Pope Francis.
A young autistic painter from Taiwan exhibited his works inside Paul VI Hall. Thanks to the coordination efforts between the ROC Embassy to the Holy See in the person of H.E. Ambassador Larry Yu-yuan Wang and the Pontifical Council for Health Pastoral Care, Leland Lee, the autistic painter, and his mother Karen, were invited to attend the 29th International Conference hosted by the said Council focusing on “The Person with Autism. Spectrum Disorders: Animating Hope.” The two of them participated in the conference and painting exhibition inauguration on November 20, 2014.
During the conference inauguration ceremony, the President of the Pontifical Council for Health Pastoral Care, Archbishop Zygmunt Zimowski, addressed his guests and publicly acknowledged Ambassador Larry Wang’ suggestion to invite Leland to this conference. He informed the audience that there were paintings of this Taiwanese artist displayed in the nearby hallway for people to admire them. The Archbishop’s remarks were greeted with applause.
Ambassador Larry Wang was also invited on stage to introduce Leland to the public. During his speech, he explained that, since the age of two, Leland had expressed himself and communicated with others through colourful paintings. By the age of seven, he was praised by the Los Angeles Times as a “gifted artist.” By the time he turned 16, he was internationally recognized and awarded honours as an “Artist of Genius.” Only last year, when he was 23, Leland was awarded as “Ten Outstanding Young Person of Taiwan 2013.” Ambassador Larry Wang also mentioned that his mother Karen is the key person behind Leland’ success and well-being. At that point, Ambassador Larry Wang invited Leland to say a few words and he greeted the guests both in English and Chinese. The audience burst into a loud applause and looked very impressed by his story.
The exhibition opening ceremony took place soon after the conference inauguration. Many visitors attended this event, including many priests, high-ranking Vatican officials and health experts. They were all pleasurably surprised by Leland’s artistic talent and conveyed their congratulations to both Leland and his mother. Some of them asked permission to take pictures with Leland. During the exhibition, the artist and his mother were interviewed by Rome Report, an international TV News Agency. This artistic event was particularly meaningful for consolidating bilateral relations between the Holy See and Taiwan.
On November 22, 2014, all the conference participants and their families attended the General Audience with Pope Francis. The Pontifical Council for Health Pastoral Care invited autistic children accompanied by their parents to take part in this special event. On that day, around 7,000 people gathered in Paul VI Hall. Leland and his mother Karen were also present.
When Leland was greeted by the Holy Father, he presented his portrait of the Roman pontiff to him. The painting was called “Pope Francis.” Then, His Holiness put his hand on Leland’s head and gave his blessing to the young artist. Leland introduced himself to the Head of the Catholic Church by saying that he was a painter from Taiwan and then gave Pope Francis a big hug. The Holy Father assured him of his prayer and, in turn, asked Leland to pray for him. That was a very emotional and touching scene.
The great deal of attention and positive remarks generated by his paintings prompted visitors to talk to Leland and shake his hand. Both the exhibition and the artist himself gained a lot of popularity.
