King Charles III has met with Pope Leo XIV during a landmark visit to the Vatican, marking the first time a reigning British monarch — and head of the Church of England — will publicly pray alongside a pontiff since England’s break from Rome five centuries ago.
Arriving with Queen Camilla on Wednesday evening, the royal couple were welcomed by the Swiss Guard at the Apostolic Palace before a private audience with the Pope on Thursday morning. The meeting took place inside the papal library, following which both leaders are set to attend an ecumenical service at the Sistine Chapel.
The midday service, to be broadcast live by Vatican media, will be jointly led by Pope Leo and the Archbishop of York, Stephen Cottrell. It represents a symbolic act of reconciliation between the Catholic and Anglican traditions, centuries after the schism triggered by King Henry VIII’s split from Rome.
The service will focus on environmental stewardship — a shared cause between the pontiff and King Charles — and will feature combined performances by the choirs of the Sistine Chapel and Saint George’s Chapel, Windsor Castle.
Charles, 76, will also be conferred the title of Royal Confrater at the Basilica of Saint Paul Outside the Walls, one of four major papal basilicas in Rome, where a custom seat will be dedicated for him and future British monarchs.
This marks Charles’s first meeting with Pope Leo, who succeeded the late Pope Francis in May 2025. The visit coincides with the Catholic Church’s Jubilee Year, which has drawn millions of pilgrims to the Vatican.
