The King and Queen will spend just over 24 hours in the Vatican next week, undertaking a historic state visit that will see the Pope and the Monarch pray together for the first time publicly. In a hugely significant moment for ecumenical relations, the King and Pope Leo will attend a service in the Sistine Chapel.
Their two-day trip, from October 22-23, follows their original state visit to the Holy See in April, but the health problems of Pope Francis meant the trip was postponed. However, the couple did privately meet the pontiff, who died later that month. Their separate state visit to Italy went ahead as planned, with trips to Rome and Ravenna.
During their brief visit, the King and Queen will be greeted by Pope Leo in his official residence, the Apostolic Palace, and afterwards when Camilla tours the Pauline Chapel, home to Michelangelo’s frescoes of St Peter and St Paul, Charles will meet Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Holy See’s Secretary of State.
Charles, Camilla and the Pope will then attend the special ecumenical service, where they will pray, which is focused on the theme of Care for Creation, reflecting the pontiff and the King’s commitment to protecting nature and concern for the environment.
It will also include performances from the Children of the Choir of His Majesty’s Chapel Royal and the Choir of St George’s Chapel Windsor alongside the Sistine Chapel Choir. Charles and Camila will also attend a second service in St Paul’s Outside the Walls, something Buckingham Palace has described as a “historic step”.
During his visit to the Basilica, the King will be given the title of ‘Royal Confrater’ of the Abbey, a highly significant moment that recognises his work to find common ground between faiths.
A Church of England spokesperson said: “So the Royal Confrater title, whilst it confers no duties or obligations on The King and makes no changes whatsoever to the formal constitutional and ecclesiastical position of His Majesty as Supreme Governor of Church of England, is a tribute to His Majesty and to his own work over many decades to find common ground between Faiths and to bring people together.
“It is intended as an ecumenical gesture of hospitality that bears witness to the historic ties between what is now the United Kingdom and the Basilica, and celebrates the deep and warm friendship between the two churches.”
In further celebration of the new bond between the Church of England and the Roman Catholic Church, the Basilica of St Paul’s Outside the Walls has created a special seat for the King.
A Buckingham Palace spokesperson said the chair, which is decorated with the King’s Coat of Arms, “will remain in the Basilica as a perpetual mark of mutual respect between Pope Leo and The King as Heads of State”.
Other elements of the state visit, which takes place from October 22-23, include a reception at the Pontifical Beda College, a seminary which trains priests from across the Commonwealth and a meeting on sustainability in the Sala Regia, a state hall in the Apostolic Palace in Vatican City.
The Queen will meet six Catholic Sisters from The International Union of Superiors General, who are working around the world at grassroots level to support female empowerment.
The King and Queen are visiting the Vatican to celebrate the 2025 Jubilee year, a special occasion that occurs every 25 years and is a significant time for the Catholic Church.
It will also mark Their Majesties’ first meeting with Pope Leo since his election in May.
A Palace spokesperson said: “The visit will also mark a significant moment in relations between the Catholic Church and Church of England, of which His Majesty is Supreme Governor, recognising the ecumenical work they have undertaken and reflecting the Jubilee year’s theme of walking together as ‘Pilgrims of Hope’.
“This will be the first State Visit, since the Reformation, where the Pope and the Monarch will pray together in an ecumenical service in the Sistine Chapel, and the first time the Monarch will have attended a service in St Paul’s Outside the Walls, a church with an historic connection to the English Crown.”
A Foreign Office spokesperson said: “At a time of global instability and conflict, the UK’s relationship with the Holy See is more important than ever – and this historic State Visit will be a key moment to strengthen this relationship.”
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