King Charles III and Queen Camilla on Thursday prayed with Pope Leo
Charles, who is the titular head of the Church of England, and Camilla sat on golden thrones at the high altar in the Sistine Chapel, before Michelangelo’s “Last Judgment”, while Leo and the Anglican Archbishop of York presided over an ecumenical mass.
The event marked the first time since the Reformation that the heads of the two Christian churches, divided for centuries over issues that now include the ordination of priests, prayed together.
The accompanying music reflects the Catholic and Anglican musical heritage: the hymns were sung by members of both the Sistine Chapel Choir and visiting members of two royal choirs: the Choir of St George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle and the Children’s Choir in the Royal Chapel of St James’s Palace.
A break from scandal
The visit comes as the UK royal family is once again under intense scrutiny over Prince Andrew’s ties to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. The scandal that has long dogged the King’s brother reignited this week after the publication of memoirs written by Epstein and Andrew accuser Virginia Giuffre.
The 65-year-old prince said he would stop using his titles, including Duke of York, but “strongly” denied Giuffre’s claims. Buckingham Palace and the UK government are under pressure to formally strip Andrew of his ducal and princely titles, and evict him from the 30-room palace near Windsor Castle where he lives.
Charles and Camilla’s visit was actually scheduled to take place earlier this year, but was rescheduled after Pope Francis became ill and then died. Charles had very much wanted to visit the Vatican during the Holy Year 2025, a Christian celebration once every quarter century.
A step towards unity
Anglicans broke away from the Catholic Church in 1534 when the English King Henry VIII was refused annulment. While the popes have for decades forged warm relations with the Church of England and the broader Anglican Communion on the path toward greater unity, the two churches remain divided.
However, the Sistine Chapel service marked a new historical step toward unity and included readings and prayers that focused on the unified theme of God the Creator.
Later on Thursday, Charles traveled to the papal cathedral with strong traditional ties to the Church of England, St Paul Beyond the Walls, to seek new official recognition. The title of “Royal Confrater” is a sign of spiritual fellowship and Charles reciprocated it: Leo was given the title of “Pontifical Confrater at St George’s Chapel, Windsor Castle”.
In the cathedral, Charles sat in a special chair decorated with his coat of arms, bearing the Latin exhortation “that they may be one,” the emblem of Christian unity. The chair was given to him and will remain in the cathedral for use by Charles and his heirs, officials said.
Cardinal Vincent Nichols, the Catholic Archbishop of Westminster, said the king’s visit strengthens the relationship established by Queen Elizabeth II, who came to Rome six times during her reign, including during the Holy Year 2000.
“Pope Leo and King Charles coming together before God in prayer is an example of true and deep cooperation,” he told the Associated Press. He noted that Charles accepted his constitutional role as supreme ruler of the Church of England, “but also his role in protecting freedom of religion and the important role of faith in society across his realm.”
The visit comes just weeks after the election of Sarah Mullally, the first Archbishop of Canterbury. She did not join the King and Queen at the Vatican, as she had not been formally installed as spiritual leader of the Church of England. She was replaced by the Archbishop of York, the Reverend Stephen Cottrell.
Lineages of the Anglican Communion
While the king deals with tensions over the Epstein scandal at home, Mulally’s election has heightened tensions within the Anglican Communion abroad. The Archbishop of Canterbury is considered “first among equals” in the Anglican Communion, which has more than 85 million members spread across 165 countries. But after Mullally’s appointment, the long-standing division in the Anglican Communion appears to be approaching a final rupture.
An organization of conservative Anglican primates – representing the majority of the congregation’s membership, primarily in Africa – has announced that it rejects all bureaucratic ties that have historically bound the Anglican Communion.
The Global Fellowship of Confessing Evangelicals, known as Gafcon, says it forms a new structure, although it claims to represent the historic Anglican Communion in a “rearranged” form.
Its statement denounced the pro-LGBT positions of some parts of the Anglican Communion as precipitating separation, a reference to positions taken by the Church of England and the Episcopal Church in the United States. But it came on the heels of another statement by Gafcon lamenting Mullally’s appointment, saying many believe only men can become bishops, and rejecting her position as a defining point of Anglican unity.
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