Almost five centuries after the founding of the Anglican Church, Charles III and Leo XIV met this Thursday (23) in the Vatican, in a historic moment. It was the first time that a British king and a Catholic pope had prayed together since Henry VIII broke with Rome in 1534.
The monarch and supreme governor of the Church of England arrived at the Vatican this morning, accompanied at all times by Queen Camilla, dressed strictly in black, as protocol requires.
They were then escorted to the Apostolic Palace for a meeting with the new pope, which lasted 45 minutes.
The ceremony in which the English king and the pontiff prayed together was in the Sistine Chapel and began with the reading of a text by Saint Ambrose of Milan in Latin, which the monarchs accompanied by a translation by John Henry Newman, an Anglican theologian who converted to Catholicism and will be declared a Doctor of the Church on November 1st.
Then, the American Pope and the Archbishop of York, Stephen Cottrell, who replaces the Archbishop of Canterbury, Sarah Mullally, on this visit, as he will take office in January, presided over the prayer.
After the prayer, the king and the pope went to the Sala Regia, adjacent to the Sistine Chapel, to meet with representatives of climate organizations and private sector leaders involved in the Sustainable Markets Initiative, which Charles III founded as Prince of Wales.
The king also met with the Vatican Secretary of State, Cardinal Pietro Parolin. Among the topics discussed with the latter, according to the Holy See, were the “common commitment to promoting peace and security in the face of global challenges” and environmental protection.
But also, “alluding to the history of the Church in the United Kingdom, there was no lack of joint reflection on the need to continue and promote ecumenical dialogue”.
According to information from the British newspaper The Guardian, Jamie Hawkey, theologian-canon of Westminster Abbey, said at a press conference organized by the Religion Media Center that “the era of mutual distrust is truly over”.
“Seventy years ago, it was not possible for Catholics and Anglicans to enter each other’s churches without causing great offense. This is a time when history can be seen as healing,” he said.
