VATICAN CITY, Oct 23 — King Charles III will today meet Pope Leo XIV at the Vatican, marking the first time in nearly 500 years that a reigning head of the Church of England has prayed publicly with a pope.
According to AFP, the 76-year-old monarch and Queen Camilla arrived in Rome on Wednesday evening for what Buckingham Palace described as a “historic” state visit. The meeting with Leo, who became pontiff in May following the death of Pope Francis, will take place at the Apostolic Palace before a joint ecumenical service in the Sistine Chapel.
Broadcast live by Vatican media, the service — focused on conservation and environmental protection — will unite Catholic and Anglican traditions, featuring choirs from both the Sistine Chapel and St George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle.
It will be the first public prayer between a British monarch and a pope since King Henry VIII’s 1534 split from Rome, which created the Church of England after the pope refused to annul his marriage.
King Charles and Queen Camilla will later attend another service at the Basilica of Saint Paul Outside the Walls, where the king will be made a “Royal Confrater” and presented with a dedicated seat for future monarchs.
The visit underscores improving relations between the Catholic Church and the Anglican Communion, which now includes 85 million members worldwide.
Charles, a long-time advocate for environmental and interfaith causes, has met several popes before, including Pope Francis last year, but this marks his first audience with Pope Leo XIV as king. — AFP
