On Thursday, October 23 2025, Pope Leo XIV joined King Charles III and Queen Camilla for a series of significant events in Rome, including an ecumenical prayer service in the Sistine Chapel — a moment marking renewed unity between the Anglican and Catholic Churches.
The day’s highlights included a private audience between the King and the Pope in the Apostolic Palace, followed by an ecumenical celebration at the Basilica of Saint Paul Outside the Walls. During the ceremony, King Charles was formally invested with the title of Royal Confrater of Saint Paul, symbolizing a new chapter in relations between the two traditions.
A Historic Day for Christian Unity
Father Martin Browne, an Irish Benedictine monk serving in the Dicastery for Promoting Christian Unity, reflected on the day’s significance in an interview with Vatican News. He emphasized that this was the first time in five centuries—since before the Reformation—that an English monarch and a Pope had prayed together.
“An English King has not prayed in the same place as a Pope since long before the separation of the Church of England from the Church of Rome,” Father Browne explained, calling the event a “further step forward in the warmth of the relationship” between the two Churches.
At the afternoon service, the King was formally welcomed into the Basilica, seated in a specially crafted chair bearing his royal coat of arms and the Latin verse Ut unum sint (“That they may be one”). Historically, English sovereigns were known as the Protectors of St. Paul’s Outside the Walls, a bond that continues to be symbolized in the Benedictine Abbey’s coat of arms, which still features the emblem of the British Order of the Garter.
A Shared Faith and Common Mission
As Supreme Governor of the Church of England, King Charles sought to include a spiritual dimension in his visit to the Vatican. Father Browne noted that the King’s intention was to make tangible “a closeness that he believes already exists” between the two Churches.
Although originally planned during Pope Francis’ papacy, the event was postponed due to his ill health and later embraced by Pope Leo XIV, who shares the same commitment to ecumenical dialogue.
“While divisions remain on theological and doctrinal issues,” Father Browne said, “there is vast common ground — a shared faith and a shared spiritual heritage.”
The services, he added, were prepared “in close collaboration with the Royal Household,” with careful attention to every detail to ensure mutual respect and unity
St. John Henry Newman: A Bridge Between Traditions
Both the morning and afternoon liturgies drew inspiration from St. John Henry Newman, a figure deeply cherished in both Churches.
The opening hymn of the Sistine Chapel prayer, originally by St. Ambrose of Milan, was sung in Newman’s English translation. Later, during the Basilica service, the hymn “Praise to the Holiest in the Height”—from Newman’s The Dream of Gerontius—was performed.
“Newman spent half his life as a priest of the Church of England and the other half as a Catholic cardinal,” Father Browne said. “He remains a powerful symbol of the shared witness of our two traditions.”
The Church of England warmly supported both his canonization in 2019 and Pope Francis’ later declaration of him as a Doctor of the Church — an event attended by the then Prince of Wales
An Ecumenism of the Common Home
A major focus of the day was the care for creation, a theme that reflects both Pope Francis’ and King Charles’ long-standing environmental advocacy.
“This visit was originally conceived to mark the 10th anniversary of Laudato si’, highlighting their shared commitment to the environment,” Father Browne noted. Pope Leo XIV has continued this vision, affirming the need for ecological responsibility across Christian communities.
He added that the Church’s inspiration for ecological awareness partly came from the Orthodox tradition, especially from Patriarch Bartholomew, and has since grown into a collaborative effort among Christian denominations.
“Today, we can truly speak of an ecumenism of our common home,” Father Browne concluded, “a shared witness to the urgent call to care for creation together.”
Comment here