In a truly remarkable turn of events, nearly five centuries after King Henry VIII dramatically separated the Church of England from the Catholic Church over matters of marriage, another English monarch, King Charles III, a divorced and remarried man himself, shared a poignant ecumenical prayer service with Pope Leo XIV on Thursday within the hallowed walls of the Sistine Chapel.
This significant gathering took place in the very chamber where Pope Leo XIV was recently chosen as the head of the Roman Catholic Church. It marked the first time in hundreds of years that a reigning pontiff and a British sovereign, who is the nominal head of the Church of England, have publicly prayed alongside each other.
The joint service served as a powerful testament to the visibly improving relationship between the Anglican and Catholic faiths. It also underscored King Charles III’s profound desire to be recognized as a leader who champions ecumenism. While his mother, Queen Elizabeth II, met with several popes during her extensive seven-decade reign, she never engaged in public prayer with any of them. King Charles and Queen Camilla did meet Pope Francis shortly before his passing in April, but that occasion did not include a prayer service.
The prayers were solemnly led by the Most Reverend Stephen Cottrell, the Archbishop of York, beneath Michelangelo’s breathtaking frescoes. Both Anglican and Catholic choirs contributed to the spiritual atmosphere, their voices blending in harmony.
With Michelangelo’s iconic “Last Judgment” dramatically dominating the backdrop, Pope Leo and Archbishop Cottrell co-officiated the service, which was conducted in both English and Latin. King Charles and Queen Camilla were seated nearby on elegant gold chairs, observers to this historic display of unity.
Following the conclusion of the service, Pope Leo and King Charles departed the Sistine Chapel together.
The King and Queen’s participation was part of a state visit to the Vatican, strategically timed to coincide with the Jubilee, a sacred year of spiritual reflection, penance, and forgiveness observed every quarter-century by the Catholic Church.
This visit comes at a challenging period for King Charles, as the royal family navigates fresh revelations regarding his brother, Prince Andrew’s, connections to the notorious sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Under considerable pressure from the King, Prince Andrew relinquished his title as the Duke of York.
However, the visit also provided a prominent platform for one of the King’s most consistent and deeply held beliefs: religious tolerance. He notably marked his first 100 days on the throne in 2022 by visiting a Jewish community center in London, where he even participated in a traditional Hanukkah dance. At his 2023 coronation, he met with leaders from diverse non-Christian faiths, including Judaism, Buddhism, and Sikhism.
King Charles’s inclusive approach has, on occasion, drawn criticism. In 1994, well before his ascension to the throne, he expressed a vision of his future role as a ‘defender of faith’ in a general sense, rather than solely as ‘Defender of the Faith,’ a comment widely interpreted as acknowledging Britain’s increasing multiculturalism. He later clarified his statement, explaining that one could be ‘Defender of the Faith’ while simultaneously acting as a ‘protector of faiths.’
In a subsequent ecumenical service also held on Thursday, the King was expected to accept the honorary title of Royal Confrater. This title formally recognizes the enduring historical bonds between the British monarchy and the Basilica of St. Paul’s Outside the Walls in Rome. Furthermore, the Vatican commissioned a special chair for the King and his future descendants, adorned with the royal coat of arms and bearing the Latin inscription “Ut unum sint” — ‘That they may be one’ — signifying their shared Christian heritage.
Reverend Martin Browne, a member of the Vatican department dedicated to promoting Christian Unity in Rome, explained prior to the visit that the services were designed as a symbol ‘of our closeness and willingness to see one another as brothers and sisters despite differences.’ He emphasized that ‘That is clearly an important sign for the world, not just in terms of the ecumenical project but for humanity in general.’
Typically, the Archbishop of Canterbury, who serves as the spiritual leader of the Church of England, would have accompanied the King on such a visit to Rome. However, the Most Reverend Justin Welby resigned last November following a report that criticized his handling of an investigation into widespread clerical abuse of boys and young men. This month, the Right Reverend Sarah Mullally was named as the first woman to hold this significant role, though her official installation is not anticipated until early next year.
The ordination of women continues to be a key point of divergence between the Anglican and Catholic faiths. While some Anglican churches have ordained female priests since the 1970s, the Vatican maintains its tradition of permitting only men to be ordained. The Catholic Church has repeatedly deferred discussions regarding the ordination of women, even to lower-ranking ministerial roles such as deacons.
Archbishop Flavio Pace, secretary of the Vatican department for Christian unity, acknowledged in a recent press briefing that the ordination of Anglican women presents a ‘potential problem’ between the churches. However, he stressed, ‘It is more urgent that we stay together, that we dialogue and that we continue to walk together.’
The Right Reverend Anthony Ball, the Archbishop of Canterbury’s representative to the Holy See, indicated that Archbishop-designate Mullally is expected to meet with Pope Leo once she formally assumes her role, given the pontiff’s regular engagements with church leaders in Rome. He noted, ‘The development of having female clergy and female bishops in the Church of England is one that is recognized as a matter for the Church of England by the Catholic Church.’
Anna Rowlands, a political theologian at Durham University in England, theorizes that there is no inherent obstacle preventing the Pope from conducting future prayer services with a female Archbishop of Canterbury. As she explained, ‘She will be, once installed, the head of a fellow Christian ecclesial community’ with which the Catholic Church maintains a relationship.
Despite this moment of shared prayer, theological experts caution that Pope Leo’s engagement with King Charles does not signify a convergence of views on other issues that continue to divide their respective churches.
For instance, Anglican priests are permitted to marry, and some Anglican churches welcome openly gay priests. In contrast, the Catholic Church mandates celibacy for its clerics and prohibits openly gay clergy. Additionally, divorced Catholics whose marriages have not been annulled are typically not allowed to remarry in a church service, while divorced Anglicans may do so within the Church of England.
“We don’t have to change each other,” remarked the Very Reverend Andrew McGowan, a professor of Anglican studies at the Yale Divinity School.
Experts generally agree it is improbable that either the Pope or the King would deliberately raise these contentious issues during their interactions. As Reverend Thomas J. Reese, a senior analyst at Religion News Service and a seasoned Vatican observer, put it: “There’s 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.”
One significant area of shared concern for both leaders is climate change. The King’s visit was originally intended to coincide with the tenth anniversary of Laudato Si, Pope Francis’s seminal encyclical emphasizing the urgent need to protect the planet’s health. Pope Leo XIV has passionately advocated for global action to ensure that the most vulnerable populations are not disproportionately burdened by climate change, echoing King Charles’s long-standing warnings about the existential threat posed by rising carbon emissions.
An image released by the Vatican showed Pope Leo XIV meeting with King Charles III and Queen Camilla. Another image depicted Monsignor Leonardo Sapienza greeting King Charles and Queen Camilla upon their arrival at the Vatican’s San Damaso courtyard. Swiss Guard members were also seen in the courtyard prior to the King’s visit.