King Charles to Pray With Pope in Vatican Visit

King Charles III and Queen Camilla arrived in Rome on the evening of Oct. 22 to begin a state visit to the Vatican, with their main programme scheduled for Oct. 23. The King will meet Pope Leo XIV at the Apostolic Palace and then join an ecumenical prayer service in the Sistine Chapel — becoming the first British monarch in about 500 years to pray publicly with a pope — and will receive a commemorative seat and the title of Royal Confrater at St Paul Outside the Walls, which will remain in the basilica. The visit takes place during the Jubilee Year and includes further Vatican events focused on care of creation and symbolic gestures intended to strengthen relations between the Church of England and the Catholic Church. Archbishop of York Stephen Cottrell will represent the Church of England; Sarah Mullally, though appointed Archbishop of Canterbury, is not yet in office and will not attend. The trip comes amid recent turmoil over Prince Andrew’s relinquishing of titles, and Buckingham Palace has sought to refocus attention on the visit’s historic and ecumenical significance.