Pope Leo XIV prays with King Charles III in Sistine Chapel

According to Buckingham Palace, it was the first time since the Reformation in the early 16th century that the pope and a British monarch prayed together at an ecumenical service at the Vatican.

Their majesties originally had planned to make the visit in April in conjunction with a formal state visit to Italy. While the Italian portion of their trip went ahead as scheduled, they only went to the Vatican briefly to greet Pope Francis, who died later that month. 

After the private meeting and exchange of gifts on October 23, Pope Leo and Anglican Archbishop Stephen Cottrell of York, the ranking prelate of the Church of England, led midday prayer in the Sistine Chapel with a focus on “care for creation”.

Archbishop Flavio Pace, secretary of the Dicastery for Promoting Christian Unity, said the moments of prayer and the exchange of honours were clear signs of the progress made in Catholic-Anglican relations since the 1960s.

Pope Leo and King Charles left the Sistine Chapel together and went into the adjoining Sala Regia to meet business leaders and activists committed to fighting climate change and promoting sustainability. 

King Charles met with Cardinal Pietro Parolin, Vatican secretary of state, and Archbishop Paul Gallagher, foreign minister, and “matters of common interest were discussed, such as environmental protection and the fight against poverty”, said the Vatican press office. There was also a shared reflection on the need to continue to promote ecumenical dialogue.

After leaving the Vatican, King Charles and Queen Camilla went to Rome’s Basilica of St Paul Outside the Walls and walked through the Holy Door, prayed at the tomb of St Paul and attended another prayer service. 

With the approval of Pope Leo, King Charles was recognised as a “royal confrater” of the basilica. In return, Buckingham Palace said, “with the approval of the King”, Pope Leo becomes “papal confrater” of St George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle.

“These mutual gifts of ‘confraternity’ are recognitions of spiritual fellowship and are deeply symbolic of the journey the Church of England – of which His Majesty is Supreme Governor – and the Roman Catholic Church have travelled over the past 500 years,” the Palace said.

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Pope, British king share historic prayer in Sistine Chapel (By Cindy Wooden/CNS)