[7] In 1514, Taiwan was included in the Diocese of Funchal as a missionary jurisdiction; there was some organized Catholic activity on the island.

In 1913, the Apostolic Prefecture of the Island of Taiwan (then called Formosa in foreign languages) was established out of the Diocese of Amoy.

Before the end of World War II the Catholic Church had a very minor presence in Taiwan, based mainly in the south of the island and centred on Spanish Dominican priests who went there from the Philippines in the 1860s.

Attempts to move the Papal nuncio to Beijing have failed, as the Holy See has not accepted demands by the People's Republic of China that it sever its diplomatic links with Taiwan.

[8]: 187 The current archbishop of Taipei is Thomas Chung An-Zu (鐘安住), who was appointed on 23 May 2020[9][10] to succeed John Hung Shan-chuan (洪山川), S.V.D., who retired in the same year.