The King and the Pope have prayed together for the first time.
King Charles, as supreme governor of the Church of England, has become the first monarch to take part in an ecumenical service with a Pope since the Reformation.
He prayed alongside Pope Leo XIV during a State visit to the Vatican after arriving in Rome on Wednesday.
The men, who met in person for the first time on Thursday, joined a special service in the Sistine Chapel for what was intended as a symbolic gesture of renewed bonds within the Christian faith.
The state visit to the Holy See, the government of the Roman Catholic Church in the Vatican, is understood to be deeply significant for the King personally and coincides with the Papal Jubilee held every 25 years.
The King and Queen arrived at the ceremonial entrance to the Apostolic Palace by car on Thursday morning and were greeted by Monsignor Leonardo Sapienza, the regent of the prefecture of the papal household, in the San Damaso Courtyard.
They were then introduced to a line-up of dignitaries before hearing the national anthems of the UK and Vatican City.
Before the service, Charles and the Pope sat down for a short meeting, in which the monarch said he was “so thrilled it’s possible to visit”.
As they posed for an official photograph, the King joked about the “constant hazard” of the cameras, to which the pontiff said: “You get used to it.”
They went on to exchange gifts, which the King described as a “small token of esteem and appreciation”. He presented the Pope with a large silver signed photograph, as per royal custom on state visits, and an icon of St Edward the Confessor.
The Pope gave the King a signed photograph of himself and a scale version of the mosaic of “Christ Pantocrator” in the Norman Cathedral of Cefalù, in Sicily, which had been made in the Vatican.
In the Sistine Chapel, the King, Queen and Pope sat on yellow, throne-like seats under Michelangelo’s Last Judgement. They were also joined by the Most Rev. Stephen Cottrell, the Archbishop of York, who was representing the Church of England.
The choirs of His Majesty’s Chapel Royal and St George’s Chapel joined the Sistine Chapel choir to sing Thomas Tallis’s If Ye Love Me and two psalms.
Yvette Cooper, the Foreign Secretary, read from the Letter to the Romans before the Archbishop of York and the Pope offered short words of prayer, with the congregation replying.
Speaking in unison, they said: “The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, be with us all evermore.”
“Amen,” the King replied.
The moment marked the first time in modern history that a supreme governor of the Church of England and a Pope have prayed together in public.
The King and Queen will later attend a service at the Basilica of St Paul’s Outside the Walls, where a special seat has been created for the King to recognise his personal contribution to interfaith relationships. It will remain at the place of worship for use by his successors.
The King will be recognised for the monarchy’s association with the basilica – the seat of a Benedictine Abbey – by being made a “Royal Confrater”. In centuries past, English kings provided for the upkeep of the tomb of St Paul at the basilica.
In return, with the approval of the King, the Dean and Canons of the College of St George Windsor offered the Pope the title of “Papal Confrater” of St George’s Chapel, Windsor, which the Pope has accepted.
The King and Pope have also exchanged honours. The Pope will become Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath, the order traditionally given to heads of state, while the King becomes Knight Grand Cross with Collar of the Vatican Order of Pope Pius IX. The Queen will become Dame Grand Cross of the same order.
The state visit will end with the King attending a reception at the Pontifical Beda College, a seminary training priests from across the Commonwealth, while the Queen meets six Catholic sisters from the International Union of Superiors General.
The King and Queen were due to make the state visit to the Holy See in April but Pope Francis’ health problems meant the trip was postponed, although the couple did have a private meeting with the pontiff, who died later that month.
The King previously visited the Vatican on five occasions as Prince of Wales, and has met three popes: Benedict XVI in 2010; Francis in 2017, 2019 and 2025; and John Paul II in Canterbury in 1982, during the first visit to the UK by a reigning Pope.
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