The King and Pope Leo XIV made history when they prayed together in a symbolic moment of unity for Anglicans and Roman Catholics across the globe.
The Pontiff led the prayer during the ecumenical service in the Vatican’s famous Sistine Chapel, likely to be seen as another milestone in the journey of the two churches.
It was the first time a British monarch, the Supreme Governor of the Church of England, had prayed at a public service with the Pope, head of the Catholic Church, since the Reformation.
The King and Queen have met Pope Leo XIV in the Apostolic Palace, to begin their State Visit to the Holy See.
— The Royal Family (@RoyalFamily) October 23, 2025
Their Majesties will undertake engagements with Pope Leo XIV in celebration of the 2025 Papal Jubilee. This will include a special ecumenical service in the Sistine… pic.twitter.com/pHpR7UNYsE
Charles and Camilla, making a two-day state visit to the Vatican, sat together a few metres from Pope Leo at the front of the congregation which featured ranks of cardinals.
At the end of the short service Pope Leo led the symbolic moment with the words: “Let us pray.”
He went on to say: “God our Father, you have created the heavens and the earth and made us in your own image: teach us to see your hand in all your works and your likeness in all your children.
“Through Christ our Lord.”
Charles and Camilla stood with the rest of the congregation who said: “Amen” at the end of the prayer.
Immediately afterwards, in another moment of church unity, Stephen Cottrell, the Archbishop of York, who was also officiating during the service, said with Pope Leo another prayer.
The two senior clerics 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.”
And again the congregation said: “Amen.”
The intervening centuries since Henry VIII broke with Rome to establish the Church of England in the 16th century had been marked by mutual distrust between the English state and the papacy.
But the ecumenical movement, a drive towards worldwide Christian unity which began early in the 20th century, has seen Anglicans and Roman Catholics working towards this goal of togetherness.
The Foreign Secretary normally travels with the monarch on state visits, and Yvette Cooper gave a reading from the Letter to the Romans. Like the Queen, Ms Cooper was dressed in black – traditional attire for women when meeting the Pope.
Earlier, Charles and Camilla sat down at a desk for talks with Pope Leo when they met privately with the Pontiff in his official residence.
When the King first greeted Leo he told him: “Your holiness, it’s such a pleasure to meet you, if I may say so,” and after introducing his wife added: “So kind to see me.”
In the Pope’s library, there was an exchange of gifts, laid out on a table with Charles presenting his host a photograph of himself with his wife and an icon of St Edward the Confessor, while the Pope gave a scale version of the mosaic of Christ Pantocrator, in the Norman Cathedral of Cefalu, in Sicily.
Charles also had solo talks with Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Vatican’s Secretary of State, with the Vatican saying afterwards: “Matters of common interest were discussed, such as environmental protection and the fight against poverty.
“Particular attention was given to the shared commitment to promoting peace and security in the face of global challenges.
“Finally, recalling the history of the Church in the United Kingdom, there was a shared reflection on the need to continue promoting ecumenical dialogue.”
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