Taiwan leader Ma Ying-jeou plans to attend the inauguration mass of the newly elected Pope Francis in Vatican on Tuesday, according to media reports.

Ma, along with seven other people, including his wife Chow Mei-ching, departed for Rome on Sunday, the Taiwan-based China Times reported on Friday.

The report said Ma would return to Taiwan after the mass and no other political visits were scheduled.

"Ma's visit will not affect cross-Straits relations. Considering his schedule and the size of the team, Ma's visit to the Vatican is more like a normal religious visit," Lü Cuncheng, a researcher of the Institute of Taiwan Studies of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, told the Global Times Sunday.

Media reports say Ma was baptized but has never been a practicing Catholic.

According to Taiwan government statistics, 35 percent of the population follows Buddhism and 1.3 percent is Catholic.     

Zhou Zhihuai, an executive vice president of the National Society of Taiwan Studies, echoed Lü's opinion, adding Ma has a reputation for working to improve cross-Straits ties based on the "1992 consensus."

The Vatican is the only European jurisdiction to maintain diplomatic relationship with Taipei and not Beijing.

China's central government sent congratulations to Pope Francis after his election on Wednesday.

Beijing also urged the Vatican to be "practical and flexible" in seeking to improve Sino-Vatican relations.

China urged the Vatican to sever its diplomatic relations with Taiwan and stop interfering in China's internal affairs under the guise of religion, Chinese foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying told reporters at a regular press briefing in Beijing on Thursday.

The last time a Taiwan leader visited the Vatican was in 2005, when former Taiwan leader Chen Shui-bian attended the funeral of the late pope John Paul II. Beijing filed a protest with Italy for issuing Chen a visa, media reports said.