Britain’s King Charles III and Queen Camilla are poised to make history in Vatican City on October 22-23, 2025, with a state visit that marks a dramatic step towards healing centuries-old divisions between the Roman Catholic Church and the Anglican Communion. The two-day visit, confined exclusively to the Holy See, will culminate in an unprecedented ecumenical prayer service in the Sistine Chapel, where King Charles and Pope Leo XIV will pray together—an act not seen since the Reformation split of 1534.
According to Reuters, this is “certainly an historic event,” as Archbishop Flavio Pace, a senior Vatican official responsible for ecumenical dialogue, put it. The significance of this moment is hard to overstate: not since the days of Henry VIII, when the English crown broke with papal authority, has a British monarch prayed alongside a Catholic pope. The service is set to focus on a shared passion—care for God’s creation—reflecting King Charles’s long-standing environmental advocacy and Pope Leo’s own commitment to the poor and vulnerable, as recently highlighted in his public statements.
The royal couple’s visit was initially scheduled for April 2025, to coincide with the Vatican’s Jubilee Year—a once-every-quarter-century celebration of Christianity. However, the trip was postponed after Pope Francis fell ill and subsequently died on April 21, 2025. During Francis’s convalescence, King Charles and Queen Camilla were granted a private meeting on April 9, the 20th anniversary of their wedding, but the full state visit was rescheduled for October after Pope Leo XIV’s election on May 8, 2025.
As reported by multiple sources, the royal couple will be received in a private audience by Pope Leo at 11 a.m. on October 23 in the Vatican’s Apostolic Palace. Following their private discussion, King Charles will meet with Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Vatican’s secretary of state, while Queen Camilla visits the Pauline Chapel. The main event, however, will unfold just after midday, when King Charles and Pope Leo enter the Sistine Chapel for a joint prayer service—joined by the Anglican archbishop of York, Stephen Cottrell (standing in for the newly appointed, but not yet installed, Archbishop of Canterbury, Sarah Mullally), the moderator of the Church of Scotland, Rosie Frew, and Cardinal Vincent Nichols, the archbishop of Westminster.
The service will be a musical affair, with hymns led by the children’s choir of the Chapel Royal of St. James’ Palace, the adult choir of St. George’s Chapel, Windsor Castle, and the Sistine Chapel Choir. Vatican officials, as cited by the Associated Press, noted that the prayer will draw on both traditions’ concern for the environment, a subject that has united Christian leaders across denominational lines.
After the prayer, King Charles and Pope Leo will move to the Sala Regia, a grand state hall adjacent to the Sistine Chapel, for a half-hour discussion on climate sustainability and care for creation. They will be joined by representatives from the business world, religious communities, and civil society, all committed to sustainable development. This dialogue reflects the evolving priorities of both churches, which, despite lingering doctrinal differences—such as the Catholic Church’s prohibition of female priests—have found common ground on contemporary global issues.
Later in the afternoon, the royal couple will travel to the papal basilica of St. Paul’s Outside the Walls, an ancient site with deep ties to the English monarchy. As reported by BBC and confirmed by Vatican News, the basilica and its attached Benedictine abbey have been supported by English kings since the Middle Ages, with insignia of the Order of the Garter still visible there today. Upon arrival, Charles and Camilla will be welcomed by Cardinal James Harvey, the basilica’s archpriest, and Abbot Donato Ogliari, who will escort them through the Holy Door to the tomb of St. Paul beneath the main altar.
In a gesture of hospitality and spiritual fellowship, King Charles will be officially welcomed as a “Royal Confrater”—a royal fellow-brother—of the basilica and abbey. He will be presented with a special chair, adorned with his royal coat of arms and the motto “Ut Unum Sint” (“That they may be one”), echoing the words of Christ in the Gospel of John and the ecumenical spirit of Pope John Paul II’s encyclical on Christian unity. The chair will remain in the basilica for Charles and his heirs to use during future visits, symbolizing a lasting bond between the two churches.
This ceremony is steeped in history, taking place in the very basilica where, in 1959, Pope John XXIII announced the convocation of the Second Vatican Council—a watershed moment for Catholic engagement with other Christian traditions. It was also here, in 1966, that Pope Paul VI and Archbishop Michael Ramsey of Canterbury prayed together and launched the official Catholic-Anglican dialogue, a process that has seen both progress and setbacks over the decades.
The absence of Archbishop Sarah Mullally, the first woman to be named Archbishop of Canterbury, is notable. As reported by Vatican and British officials, she will not join the king and queen because her installation is scheduled for 2026. This underscores ongoing theological differences, particularly regarding the ordination of women, which remain a point of contention between the two churches. Yet, as Monsignor Flavio Pace emphasized, “such obstacles shouldn’t prevent theological dialogue from continuing.”
Following the vespers and Charles’s public recognition as Royal Confrater, the royal couple will attend a reception at Beda College, a Catholic seminary for men discerning vocations later in life. This marks the final major event of their visit before returning to England.
King Charles is no stranger to the Vatican, having met Popes John Paul II, Benedict XVI, and Francis during previous visits. His mother, Queen Elizabeth II, also visited the Vatican during the 2000 Jubilee. But this visit, as officials on both sides agree, is unprecedented in its symbolism and scope. The fact that the two leaders will pray together in the Sistine Chapel—where Leo XIV was elected—signals a new chapter in relations between the world’s largest Christian body, with 1.4 billion Catholics, and the 85-million-strong Anglican Communion.
As the world watches, the hope is that this act of unity, rooted in shared values and mutual respect, will inspire further reconciliation—not only between Rome and Canterbury, but among all Christians seeking common ground in a divided world.