Papal Mass their prescribed order of precedence. A thurifer and seven acolytes accompanied the cross-bearer, and the apostolic subdeacon carried the Gospel Book (a function now reserved to a deacon). At the end of the procession the pope was carried into the basilica on the "sedia gestatoria" and with the two "flabella" borne on either side. He was accompanied by an entourage which included the Swiss Guards in their colorful uniforms and members of the Roman nobility in formal court dress. At times, a canopy was carried above his head. Two protonotaries apostolic raised the front of the falda as the pope
Religion in Taiwan broader "Chinese religion". It is hard to make such distinction because various Taoist deities are worshipped alongside deities which originated in Buddhism, for instance Guanyin, in many temples across the country. Prior to the 17th century the island of Taiwan was inhabited by the Taiwanese aborigines of Austronesian stock, and there were small settlements of Chinese and Japanese maritime traders and pirates. Taiwanese aborigines traditionally practised an animistic ethnic religion. When the island fell under Dutch rule in 1624, Protestantism was spread to the Taiwanese aborigines. Two years later, with the transition to Spanish rule, the Catholic Church was introduced