Pope Leo XIV and King Charles III make history by praying together for the first time since the Reformation

History was written on Thursday in the Sistine Chapel, when Pope Leo XIV and King Charles III prayed together, marking the first time since the Protestant Reformation that a reigning British monarch and a pope prayed together during a state visit to the Vatican.

Pope Leo XIV led the midday prayer of the Liturgy of the Hours, standing beneath Michelangelo’s fresco of The Last Judgment and flanked by the Anglican Archbishop of York, Stephen Cottrell, King Charles and Queen Camilla.

The ecumenical ceremony featured the Sistine Chapel Choir, along with the choirs of St George’s Chapel, Windsor Castle, and Her Majesty’s Chapel Royal.

The choirs performed the hymn “Come, Holy Ghost, Who Ever One” (Come, Holy Spirit, who art eternally One), composed by Saint Ambrose and translated into English by Saint John Henry Newman, a 19th-century English cardinal and convert from Anglicanism who will be declared a Doctor of the Church on November 1.

King Charles attended Newman’s canonization in 2019 and recently became the first British monarch to visit the Birmingham Oratory, founded by Newman in 1848.

During the prayer, the choirs sang verses from Psalms 8 and 64 in Latin and English. A passage from St. Paul’s Letter to the Romans (8:22–27) was then proclaimed, before Pope Leo and Archbishop Cottrell offered the final prayer together in English.

Cardinals, bishops and Anglican representatives attended the ceremony, which was the highlight of the king’s first state visit to the Vatican since his accession to the throne in 2022.

As part of the official visit, Pope Leo approved conferring on the monarch the new title of “Royal Confraternity” of the Papal Basilica of Saint Paul Outside the Walls. Cardinal James Michael Harvey, archpriest of the basilica, will formally confer this honor during an evening ecumenical ceremony at the tomb of St. Paul.

In turn, Pope Leo XIV was offered the title of “Papal Confrater” of St. George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle, an invitation which the Pontiff accepted.

“These mutual gifts of ‘fellowship’ are recognitions of spiritual communion and profound symbols of the path taken by the Church of England – of which His Majesty is Supreme Governor – and the Roman Catholic Church over the last 500 years,” the British Embassy to the Holy See said in a statement.

Before the prayer, King Charles and Queen Camilla met privately with Pope Leo at the Apostolic Palace. The monarch also held meetings with Cardinal Pietro Parolin, Vatican Secretary of State, and with Archbishop Paul Gallagher, Secretary for Relations with States. According to the Vatican, the talks focused on environmental protection, the fight against poverty and the promotion of ecumenical dialogue.

“Special attention was paid to the shared commitment to promoting peace and security in the face of global challenges,” the Holy See Press Office noted.

King Charles also conferred on the Pope the title of Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath, while the Pontiff awarded the monarch the decoration of Knight Grand Cross with Collar of the Vatican Order of Pius IX, and to Queen Camilla the distinction of Dame Grand Cross of the same order.

The official visit takes place while King Charles continues his treatment against cancer, diagnosed in early 2024.

Buckingham Palace explained that the state visit – postponed earlier this year due to Pope Francis’ poor health – celebrates both the Church’s Jubilee Year 2025 and “the ecumenical work between the Church of England and the Catholic Church, reflecting the jubilee theme of walking together as ‘Pilgrims of Hope’.”

Following the ceremony in the Sistine Chapel, Pope Leo and King Charles met with business and religious leaders in the Sala Regia of the Apostolic Palace to discuss environmental sustainability and the care of creation.

After the meetings at the Vatican, King Charles plans to visit the Basilica of Saint Paul Outside the Walls, rekindling the historical ties between England and this papal basilica. Following the arrival in England of Roman missionary monks such as Saint Augustine of Canterbury and Saint Paulinus of York in the 6th and 7th centuries, Saxon kings such as Offa and Æthelwulf contributed to the maintenance of the tombs of the apostles in Rome.

Towards the end of the Middle Ages, the kings of England were recognized as “protectors” of the Basilica and Abbey of St. Paul, whose heraldic shield came to include the insignia of the Order of the Garter. That tradition was interrupted by the Reformation and the centuries of estrangement that followed.

A new chair with the royal coat of arms and the Latin inscription has been installed in the Basilica of Saint Paul Outside the Walls That they may be one (“May they all be one”) for King Charles and his successors to use on future visits.

King Charles visited the Vatican several times as Prince of Wales, including the funeral of St John Paul II and the canonization of Newman. His last papal audience was with Pope Francis in April, shortly before his death, although it was not a state visit.

Queen Elizabeth II, Charles’ mother, met five popes during her 70-year reign, but never participated in public prayer with any of them.

Translated and adapted by ACI Prensa. Originally published in CNA.