Cardinal Joseph Zen Ze-Kiun knew exactly what he was doing when he posted online a photo of himself leading a Eucharistic procession after saying a traditional Latin Mass in Hong Kong, and he is sending multiple messages with it, a friend of his told the Register.

Among the intended recipients are Catholics in the Diocese of Hong Kong and Pope Leo XIV, who has yet to signal his intentions with respect to the Latin Mass, said Mark Simon, who has known Cardinal Zen since 1996.

“He’s talking to his own people, letting them know he’s still there. And he is, of course, in favor of the Latin Mass,” Simon said by telephone.

“He’s saying it,” Simon said, referring to the Latin Mass, “and by saying it, he’s letting Leo know where he stands.”

Simon, an American, runs businesses owned by Jimmy Lai, a Catholic supporter of democracy in Hong Kong who has been imprisoned by the authorities there since December 2020. Lai is a friend and supporter of Cardinal Zen.

Pope Francis sought to restrict the Latin Mass, particularly with his July 2021 apostolic letter Traditionis Custodes, “to press on ever more in the constant search for ecclesial communion,” in the words of the document. Pope Leo XIV, who was elected May 8, has yet to signal his intentions with respect to the traditional Latin Mass.

Marking Corpus Christi Sunday, Cardinal Zen, 93, retired bishop of Hong Kong, posted a photo of himself holding a monstrance with a Eucharistic Host in it under an umbrella, along with a four-paragraph write-up in Cantonese and English describing a Eucharistic procession at a parish church in Hong Kong after a Latin Mass.

“After celebrating the Tridentine Mass (Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite) at Mary, Help of Christians Parish in Hong Kong, I led a Eucharistic procession, bringing the Holy Eucharist out of the church and through the streets of the campus,” Cardinal Zen wrote in the social-media post Sunday, with parentheses in the original.

Sunday was the Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ, traditionally known as Corpus Christi, which is the most common day of the year for Eucharistic processions.

“Jesus is truly Emmanuel — God with us. He so desires to be with us that He left us this marvelous Sacrament, offering Himself under the appearance of bread and wine for us to eat and drink. The food we eat becomes part of our body, but when we receive Jesus, we become His Body,” Cardinal Zen wrote.

Simon told the Register that he is not a spokesman for Cardinal Zen and that he hasn’t spoken with him recently.

But he also said that Cardinal Zen sends precise messages with his public actions.

“Him doing this — the reason you’re calling is exactly why he’s doing this,” Simon told a Register reporter. “He’s very PR-savvy.”

“He knows they’re not going to be happy,” Simon said, referring to the Chinese Communist government officials.

Cardinal Zen was arrested in May 2022 in Hong Kong on charges of collusion with foreign forces, and while he is not in prison now, he remains under watch by authorities there.

“There’s no other pro-democracy figure who shows up in public. But Zen is the guy with the ax hanging over his head. They could pick him up and put him in prison,” Simon said.

David Alton, a member of the British House of Lords and a Catholic, called Cardinal Zen “the outstanding religious leader of our times — refusing to abandon his people and refusing to comply with the demands of the Chinese Communist Party,” in a social-media post.

Simon said he doesn’t believe the cardinal is trying to provoke the government, but instead is sending a message of solidarity to his fellow Catholics who are trying to remain faithful to Rome without submitting to the Chinese Patriotic Catholic Association, a government-sanctioned organization associated with the Communist Party that many Catholics feel taints the “unofficial” Church.

“I feel like with the Latin Mass thing, he’s showing the flag of a Church independent of the Patriotic Church,” Simon said.

In his social-media post Sunday, Cardinal Zen made no statements on secular politics and no overt statements on Church policy matters but focused instead on the Eucharist.

“We celebrate the Solemnity of Corpus Christi, a feast the Church established precisely so that the faithful might allow God to enter more deeply into their daily lives through the Holy Eucharist,” Cardinal Zen wrote.

Later in the post, he said, “Sometimes we say, ‘Let us not leave Jesus alone in the tabernacle.’ Of course, this is a figurative way of speaking. When Jesus revealed His Sacred Heart, He said, ‘This heart has loved men so much, yet is so little loved in return.’”

“As though He needs our consolation,” Cardinal Zen added. “In truth, it is not Jesus who needs us — but He knows that we need Him. To forget Jesus is our greatest loss.”