Five centuries after King Henry VIII’s dramatic break from the Catholic Church over his marital woes, a new chapter unfolded as a divorced and remarried British monarch shared a poignant ecumenical prayer service with the Pope in the iconic Sistine Chapel this Thursday.
This historic gathering, held within the very walls where Pope Leo XIV was recently chosen as the leader of the Roman Catholic Church, marked the first instance in contemporary times of a Pope and a British sovereign—who is also the ceremonial head of the Church of England—engaging in public prayer together.
This gesture powerfully signifies the significant improvements in relations between Anglican and Catholic faiths, alongside King Charles III’s evident desire to champion interfaith understanding. Notably, while his mother, Queen Elizabeth II, met multiple popes during her long reign, she never participated in a public prayer service. Even King Charles and Queen Camilla’s meeting with Pope Francis just before his passing in April did not include such a joint prayer.
Their Majesties’ involvement in the service was part of a pre-planned state visit to the Vatican, timed to coincide with the Jubilee—a special year of spiritual reflection and forgiveness observed every twenty-five years.
This visit occurs during a challenging period for King Charles, as the royal family grapples with fresh revelations concerning his brother Prince Andrew’s connections to the infamous sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Following considerable pressure from the King, Andrew relinquished his title as the Duke of York.
However, this occasion also highlighted one of the King’s deeply held convictions: religious tolerance. Early in his reign, in 2022, he visited a Jewish community center in London, even participating in a Hora dance at a Hanukkah celebration. His 2023 coronation saw him engage with leaders from various non-Christian faiths, including Judaism, Buddhism, and Sikhism, reinforcing his commitment to inclusivity.
Charles’s inclusive stance hasn’t always been without controversy. In 1994, long before his ascension to the throne, he suggested his future role would be that of a ‘defender of faith’ in general, rather than the traditional ‘Defender of the Faith’ — a comment interpreted as acknowledging Britain’s increasing religious diversity. He later clarified, stating that while upholding his traditional title, he could also be a ‘protector of faiths.’
Later on Thursday, in a second ecumenical ceremony, the King was anticipated to accept the honorary title of ‘Royal Confrater,’ a designation acknowledging the enduring historical connections between the British monarchy and Rome’s Basilica of St Paul’s Outside the Walls. The Vatican further honored the occasion by designing a chair for the King and his successors, adorned with the royal coat of arms and inscribed with the Latin phrase ‘Ut unum sint’ (‘That they may be one’), symbolizing a shared Christian heritage.
Reverend Martin Browne of the Vatican’s Christian Unity department remarked before the visit that these services were arranged to signal ‘our closeness and willingness to see one another as brothers and sisters despite differences.’ He emphasized that this is ‘clearly an important sign for the world, not just in terms of the ecumenical project, but for humanity in general.’
Underneath Michelangelo’s breathtaking frescoes, Pope Leo and the Most Reverend Stephen Cottrell, the Archbishop of York, jointly led the prayers, with harmonies provided by both Anglican and Catholic choirs.
Typically, the Archbishop of Canterbury, as the head of the Church of England, would have joined the King on such a visit. However, the Most Reverend Justin Welby stepped down last November following a report that criticized his handling of widespread clerical abuse allegations. This month, the Right Reverend Sarah Mullally made history by being named the first woman to hold the position, though her official installation is slated for early next year.
A significant point of divergence between the Anglican and Catholic traditions remains the ordination of women. While certain Anglican churches have welcomed female priests since the 1970s, the Vatican strictly reserves ordination for men and has consistently deferred debates on ordaining women, even to lesser roles such as deacons.
During a recent press briefing, Archbishop Flavio Pace, secretary of the Vatican department for Christian unity, addressed whether Pope Leo would have conducted a joint prayer service with the archbishop-designate. He clarified that it wasn’t an issue until her installation, admitting that the ordination of Anglican women presents a ‘potential problem’ but emphasized, ‘it is more urgent that we stay together, that we dialogue, and that we continue to walk together.’
Upon her official installation, Archbishop-designate Mullally is expected to meet with Pope Leo, as the pontiff frequently hosts church leaders in Rome. The Right Reverend Anthony Ball, the Archbishop of Canterbury’s representative to the Holy See, stated that the Catholic Church acknowledges the Church of England’s decision to have female clergy and bishops as an internal matter.
Anna Rowlands, a political theologian from Durham University, suggested that in principle, there’s no obstacle to the Pope holding future prayer services with a female Archbishop of Canterbury. She explained that once installed, the new Archbishop will lead a recognized Christian ecclesial community with which the Catholic Church maintains a relationship.
Theological experts clarified that such a service would not imply a shift in the papacy’s stance on ordaining women. Similarly, Pope Leo’s shared prayer with King Charles doesn’t signify an agreement on other long-standing doctrinal differences between their faiths.
For instance, Anglican priests are permitted to marry, and some Anglican churches accept openly gay clergy, whereas the Catholic Church requires celibacy and forbids openly gay individuals from the priesthood. Furthermore, divorced Catholics whose marriages haven’t been annulled are typically not allowed to remarry in a church ceremony, unlike divorced Anglicans who may do so within the Church of England.
As the Very Reverend Andrew McGowan, a professor of Anglican studies at Yale Divinity School, aptly put it, ‘We don’t have to change each other.’
Experts believe it’s improbable that either the Pope or the King would introduce contentious topics. Reverend Thomas J. Reese, a senior analyst at Religion News Service and a seasoned Vatican observer, likened it to ‘certain topics you don’t bring up at Thanksgiving dinner. You know where everybody stands and so the effort is to see where we can work together.’
A significant area of mutual concern for both leaders is climate change. The King’s visit was initially planned to mark the tenth anniversary of ‘Laudato Si,’ Pope Francis’s landmark encyclical on environmental protection. Pope Leo has also vocally advocated for urgent global action to ensure the most vulnerable do not bear the brunt of climate change, a cause King Charles has consistently championed, warning of an existential threat posed by increasing carbon emissions.