Chinese Catholics on Friday expressed their hope that Pope Francis' visit to East Asia would help mend the frayed relationship between the Vatican and Beijing, ABC News reported.

Since the falling out between China and Vatican, the two countries had no official contacts and no diplomatic relations with each other.

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However, the Vatican said that in Pope Francis' 2014 visit to South Korea, the Pope sent a telegram to Beijing, but it never arrived.

Sending a telegram of greeting is customary for a Pope whenever he flies over another country.

The Pope's move is considered a big step towards a possible reconciliation as it showed Vatican's respect and acknowledgement of the Asian country.

In a statement released by Vatican spokesperson Rev. Federico Lombardi on Friday, said the telegram did not arrive and the Chinese embassy in Italy had to ask for a copy of the message.

The telegram was sent via the Pope's chartered plane, and according to Lombardi, it might have had encountered glitches while being sent.

"But in any case, the telegram has surely arrived now," he said.

Even with the glitch, the Foreign Ministry of China expressed its optimism that there could be a "constructive dialogue" towards a better relationship.

Reports, however, said that the Chinese media executed a news blackout regarding the Pope's visit and Chinese Catholics were forbidden to partake in the activities in South Korea.

During a mass at a Beijing church, the churchgoers expressed their hope that the Pope would soon visit their country as well.

Beijing diocese secretary Rev. Matthew Zhen Xuebin said the diocese is hoping that China and the Vatican will rebuild it ties and the "Pope will be able to visit China."

During the Pope's South Korean visit, he had been asked questions about China and the Catholics' living there, but the pope avoided answering the questions.

China and the Vatican had an estranged relationship which started in 1951 when the atheist Communist Party was in power and built its own church. China oppressed the church for decades until the 1970's when imprisoned priests were freed and freedom of religious choice was brought back.

Tension was fueled even more when China demanded the freedom to appoint its own bishop even without the Vatican's approval.

The relationship was further severed in 1989 when Beijing denied St. John Paul II of passing though the Chinese airspace when he went to South Korea.

TagsPope Francis, vatical