Buckingham Palace has released key details of King Charles and Queen Camilla’s upcoming meeting with Pope Leo XIV.
The King and Queen will undertake an historic State Visit to the Holy See from October 22nd to 23rd.
The royal couple will join Pope Leo XIV to celebrate the 2025 Jubilee Year.
Traditionally marked every 25 years, the Jubilee is a special time for the Catholic Church.
The visit will mark King Charles and Queen Camilla’s first meeting with Pope Leo XIV since his election in May 2025.
The King and Queen will undertake an historic State Visit to the Holy See from October 22nd to 23rd.
It is a significant moment in relations between the Catholic Church and Church of England, of which the King is the Supreme Governor, recognising the ecumenical work they have undertaken and reflecting the Jubilee year’s theme of walking together as ‘Pilgrims of Hope’.
In the first such occasions in many centuries, the Pope and the King will pray together in a unique ecumenical service at the Sistine Chapel, and the King, accompanied by the Queen, will attend a further ecumenical service in the Basilica of St Paul’s Outside the Walls.
Buckingham Palace confirmed the key details of the State Visit in its announcement, including outlining the list of planned engagements.
The King and Queen will meet Pope Leo XIV in the Apostolic Palace, following which, the King will meet Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Holy See’s Secretary of State.
Buckingham Palace has released key details of King Charles and Queen Camilla’s upcoming meeting with Pope Leo XIV.
Meanwhile the Queen will view the Pauline Chapel, which houses Michaelangelo’s last two frescoes of St Peter and St Paul.
King Charles, Queen Camilla and the Pope will then attend a special ecumenical service in the Sistine Chapel, focused on the theme of ‘Care for Creation’, reflecting Pope Leo’s and the King’s commitment to the protection of Nature and concern for the environment.
The Children of the Choir of the King’s Chapel Royal and the Choir of St. George’s Chapel, Windsor, will sing during the service, accompanied by the Sistine Chapel Choir.
