rome
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King Charles III’s state visit to the Vatican begins on Thursday, when he becomes the first British monarch in 500 years to pray with the pope, following a traumatic week back home following the uproar over the Prince Andrew scandal.
King Charles and Queen Camilla will meet for the first time since the election of Pope Leo XIV in May, after arriving in Rome on Wednesday night to celebrate the quarterly Year of the Holy Jubilee.
The couple landed at Ciampino Airport and were met by a delegation including the British Ambassador to the Holy See.
On Thursday, under the vaulted ceiling of the Sistine Chapel meticulously painted by Michelangelo, Charles will pray with the pope in a special ecumenical service, the first of its kind since at least the Reformation.
The service will focus on care for creation, a long-standing concern of the king and a theme highlighted by Pope Leo early in his papacy. Leo and Anglican Archbishop of York Stephen Cottrell will preside.
The sight of the king and pope praying together for the first time shows the deepening ties between Catholics and Anglicans, the subject of the whistleblower visit.
The visit is seen by both sides as a “pivotal moment” in reconciling the rift between the British monarchy and the papacy, which dates back to 1534, when Henry VIII broke with Rome and founded the Church of England.
“It would be difficult to overstate the importance of this special visit,” the Rev. Martin Brown, a Vatican official in the Department for the Promotion of Christian Unity, told CNN. He said it was the first time a royal visit had an “ecumenical dimension”, meaning the focus was on building unity between Rome, the Church of England and the wider Anglican communion.
“We haven’t seen a service that includes both the Pope and the King of England since long before the Reformation,” Brown explained. “Its uniqueness is emphasized by the fact that it takes place in the Sistine Chapel within the Apostolic Palace and the music is conducted by two choirs: the Pope’s ‘own’ choir and the King’s ‘own’ choir.” ”
The king and queen will then attend an ecumenical service outside the city walls at St Paul’s Cathedral, which has historical ties to the British royal family and is home to the tomb of the apostle St Paul, whose upkeep was paid for by successive British monarchs. It is one of the four papal cathedrals in Rome and is also home to a community of Benedictine monks.
Pope Leo approved making King Charles a “Royal Fellow” of St. Paul’s Cathedral as a “sign of hospitality and spiritual communion.” To celebrate this new bond, the House of Worship commissioned a special throne-like chair featuring the King’s coat of arms and the Latin motto “Ut unum sint” (“May they be one”). It will remain permanently in the cathedral for the use of his successors.
The state visit concludes with King Charles attending a reception at the Pontifical University of Bede, a seminary that trains clergy from across the Commonwealth. Meanwhile, Queen Camilla will meet six Catholic sisters from the International Union of High Officials, which works to empower women around the world, including through girls’ education.
Despite the turmoil of the past, relations between the Vatican and the British monarchy are today characterized by warmth and mutual respect. The UK and the Holy See have had full diplomatic relations since 1982.
Prince Charles and his wife Camilla were scheduled to make an official visit to the Vatican in early April, but the visit was postponed due to Pope Francis’ poor health. The group continued on official visits to Italy, visiting Rome and Ravenna in the northeast. However, the King and Queen were able to pay a personal visit to the sickly Pope two weeks before his death.
As Prince Charles, he visited the Vatican five times, and his late mother, Queen Elizabeth II, met with five popes during her lifetime.
“Yes, there are differences and gaps, but some of them are very deep,” Brown said. “But this (visit) reminds everyone that those who come together are more important.”
Diarmaid McCulloch, an ecclesiastical historian at Oxford University, said that although there was unwarranted “hype” surrounding the king’s visit, “there is real significance in the Holy See’s showing of such formal favor to Charles.”
“This is a great gesture of goodwill on the part of the Vatican, and gestures of goodwill are always welcomed,” McCulloch said.
