Copyright yahoo
The King and the Pope have prayed together in public for the first time. The King, as supreme governor of the Church of England, has become the first monarch to take part in an ecumenical service with a Pope since the Reformation. He prayed alongside Pope Leo XIV during a State visit to the Vatican after arriving in Rome on Wednesday. The men, who met in person for the first time on Thursday, joined a special service in the Sistine Chapel for what was intended as a symbolic gesture of renewed bonds within the Christian faith. The visit comes days after Prince Andrew, the King’s brother, dropped the use of his Duke of York title amid scandal about his connection to Jeffrey Epstein, the late paedophile financier. The Prince now faces a potential parliamentary investigation into his living arrangements at Royal Lodge in Windsor. The state visit to the Holy See, the government of the Roman Catholic Church in the Vatican, is understood to be deeply significant for the King personally and coincides with the Papal Jubilee held every 25 years. The King and Queen arrived at the ceremonial entrance to the Apoostolic Palace by car on Thursday morning and were greeted by the Rev Monsignor Leonardo Sapienza, the regent of the prefecture of the papal household, in the San Damaso Courtyard. They were then introduced to a line-up of dignitaries before hearing the national anthems of the UK and Vatican City. Before the service, King Charles and the Pope sat down for a short meeting, in which the monarch said he was “so thrilled it’s possible to visit”. As they posed for an official photograph, the King joked about the “constant hazard” of the cameras, to which the pontiff said: “You get used to it.” They went on to exchange gifts, which the King described as a “small token of esteem and appreciation”. He presented the Pope with a large silver signed photograph, as per royal custom on state visits, and an icon of St Edward the Confessor. The Pope gave the King a signed photograph of himself and scale version of the mosaic of “Christ Pantocrator” in the Norman Cathedral of Cefalù, in Sicily, which had been made in the Vatican. The King and Queen will later attend a service at the Basilica of St Paul’s Outside the Walls, where a special seat has been created for the King to recognise his personal contribution to interfaith relationships. It will remain at the place of worship for use by his successors. The King will be recognised for the monarchy’s association with the basilica – the seat of a Benedictine Abbey – by being made a “Royal Confrater”. In centuries past, English kings provided for the upkeep of the tomb of St Paul at the basilica. In return, with the approval of the King, the Dean and Canons of the College of St George Windsor offered the Pope the title of “Papal Confrater” of St George’s Chapel, Windsor, and the Pope has accepted. The King and Pope have also exchanged honours. The Pope will become Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath, the order traditionally given to heads of state, while the King becomes Knight Grand Cross with Collar of the Vatican Order of Pope Pius IX. The Queen will become Dame Grand Cross of the same order. The state visit will end with the King attending a reception at the Pontifical Beda College, a seminary training priests from across the Commonwealth, while the Queen meets six Catholic sisters from the International Union of Superiors General. The King and Queen were due to make the state visit to the Holy See in April but the health problems of Pope Francis meant the trip was postponed, although the couple did have a private meeting the pontiff, who died later that month. The King previously visited the Vatican on five occasions as Prince of Wales, and has met three popes: Benedict XVI in 2010; Francis in 2017, 2019 and 2025; and John Paul II in Canterbury in 1982, during the first visit to the UK by a reigning Pope.
