Britain’s King Charles and Pope Leo prayed together inside the Vatican’s Sistine Chapel on Thursday, October 23, marking the first joint act of worship between an English monarch and a Catholic pontiff since King Henry VIII severed ties with Rome nearly five centuries ago.
The unprecedented service featured Latin chants and English prayers led by Pope Leo XIV — the first U.S.-born pope, elected six months ago — alongside Anglican Archbishop Stephen Cottrell. King Charles, who serves as the supreme governor of the Church of England, was seated beside the pontiff near the altar, as the Sistine Chapel Choir performed with two royal choirs.
Though previous British monarchs and popes have met, this is the first time such an encounter has included shared prayer. The King and Queen Camilla are on a state visit to the Vatican aimed at strengthening relations between the Catholic Church and the Anglican Communion, centuries after their historic split.
Anglican Rev. James Hawkey, canon theologian of Westminster Abbey, described the moment as “a kind of healing of history,” adding that such a gathering “would have been unimaginable just a generation ago.”
The 1534 schism between England and Rome began when Pope Clement VII refused to annul King Henry VIII’s marriage to Catherine of Aragon, leading to the creation of the Church of England and centuries of religious tension.
Earlier in the day, King Charles and Queen Camilla held a private audience with Pope Leo. Later, the King is scheduled to visit the Basilica of St. Paul Outside the Walls in Rome, where he will be granted the honorary title of “Royal Confrater” — symbolizing fraternity between the two churches. A specially crafted seat in the basilica’s apse, bearing the King’s coat of arms and the motto “Ut unum sint” (“That they may be one”), will be reserved for future British monarchs.
In a reciprocal gesture, Buckingham Palace announced that King Charles had conferred two British honors on Pope Leo — naming him “Papal Confrater” of St. George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle and awarding him the Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath.
The event marks a milestone in Catholic-Anglican relations, which have steadily improved since the 1960s through ongoing dialogue and shared commitments to unity.
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Source:Africa Publicity
