Oct. 23 (UPI) — King Charles III prayed with Pope Leo after exchanging gifts at the Vatican on Thursday, making him the first head of the Church of England to do so since it split with the Holy See 500 years ago.
The king, alongside Queen Camilla, prayed with the pope at the Basilica of St. Paul’s Outside Walls in what has been billed as a historic meeting that bridges centuries of history between Britain and the Vatican.
Charles and Camilla visited the Vatican and participated in the service as part of the Vatican’s Jubilee, a year of penance and forgiveness held every 25 years, The New York Times reported.
After a private audience with the pope, the king and queen joined him at the basilica, where he was given the honorary title of Royal Confrater, which is meant to recognize the history between the British monarchy and the Vatican.
According to the BBC, the church holds specific links to the Saxons and the monarchy dating to before the Reformation.
Britain’s King Charles III (2-R) and Queen Camilla (R) attending an ecumenical prayer with Pope Leo XIV (C) at the Sistine Chapel during a state visit to the Vatican, marking their first encounter with Pope Leo XIV. Photo by Vatican Media/EPA
The king and queen arrived at the Vatican early Thursday, where Swiss guards played the U.K.’s national anthem, the Pope was gifted a photograph of St. Edward the Confessor and Pope Leo gave Charles and Camilla a mosaic of Christ Pantocrator.
The king and the Pope then prayed at the Sistine Chapel, which is reportedly the first time in history that the head of the Church of England joined a pope to pray.
Pope Leo XIV (C) poses for a photograph with Britain’s King Charles III (L) and Queen Camilla (R) during their meeting in Vatican City. Photo by Vatican Media/EPA
After the prayer, all three went to St. Paul’s, where Charles was gifted a chair that includes his coat of arms and a Latin inscription meaning “That they may be one.”
The chair, according to the Vatican, will remain at the church for him or his heirs and successors to use when they come to pray there.
