 Shih, along with ROC President Ma Ying-jeou, First Lady Christine Chow Ma, National Security Council Secretary-General Jason Yuan and President of Fu Jen Catholic University Vincent Chiang visited Vatican City on 19 March 2013 to attend the inauguration of the newly elected Pope Francis as the head of Catholic Church.Before the visit, Shih said that this Vatican City trip by high ranking ROC officials were made without any contact with the Chinese mainland government.According to Shih, the ROC government was invited by the Holy See because both governments share the same views on religious freedom, social justice and humanitarianism.