King Charles III joins Pope Leo XIV for historic ecumenical prayer in Sistine Chapel, marking a milestone in Anglican-Catholic relations and shared environmental commitment.
Newsroom (23/10/2025, Gaudium Press ) In a landmark moment for Anglican-Catholic relations, King Charles III and Queen Camilla joined Pope Leo XIV for a midday prayer service in the Sistine Chapel on Thursday, marking the first such visit by a British monarch in 500 years. The ecumenical gathering, part of an official state visit to the Vatican, underscored themes of Christian unity and environmental stewardship.
The service followed a private meeting in the Apostolic Palace, where the Pope, King Charles, and Queen Camilla discussed shared priorities. They were joined in the chapel by the Most Reverend Stephen Cottrell, Archbishop of York and Primate of England, alongside prominent Catholic leaders, including Cardinal Vincent Nichols, Archbishop of Westminster, and Leo Cushley, Archbishop of St Andrews and Edinburgh.
Held in Michelangelo’s frescoed masterpiece, the service featured psalms and a Gospel reading led by Pope Leo and Archbishop Cottrell, conducted in Latin and English. The event highlighted the deepening ties between the Vatican and the United Kingdom, building on King Charles’ longstanding commitment to interfaith dialogue as Supreme Governor of the Church of England.
The prayer service opened with a hymn rooted in Christian unity, its text drawn from St. Ambrose of Milan and translated by St. John Henry Newman, the English theologian canonized in 2019, whom King Charles saw declared a saint. Newman, a former Anglican who converted to Catholicism, will be named a Doctor of the Church on November 1 by Pope Leo. The Sistine Chapel resonated with the voices of the Sistine Chapel Choir, joined by the Lay Clerks of St. George’s Chapel, Windsor Castle, and the Children of the Chapel Royal, St. James’ Palace, invited by the royal couple.
Originally planned for April but postponed due to Pope Francis’ ill health, the visit spotlighted the shared commitment of King Charles and Pope Leo to environmental care, a decade after the publication of the papal encyclical Laudato si’. The ecumenical prayer, a personal wish of King Charles, symbolized a bridge between faiths and a step toward greater Christian collaboration.
As the organ signaled the close of the service, Pope Leo and King Charles exited the Sistine Chapel side by side, a powerful image of unity in a divided world.
- Raju Hasmukh with files from Vatican News
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