King Charles to meet Pope Leo on rearranged Vatican visit

On a state visit to the Vatican in October, King Charles III and Queen Camilla will visit Pope Leo XIVas. Because of Pope Francis' poor health, a previous official visit to the Vatican was postponed earlier this year. In April, the King and Queen paid a brief private visit to Pope Francis on their 20th wedding anniversary, marking what was to be one of the late pope's last meetings with a high-profile visitor before he died later this month. Buckingham Palace's rescheduled visit would highlight the strong links between the Catholic Church and the Church of England, of which the King is the king's supreme governor.

The trip's particulars have yet to be confirmed, but it will fall during the Catholic Church's special jubilee year, which takes place every 25 years, with the King and Queen expected to visit Pope Leo under the theme of

pilgrims of hope. For many years, the King has been trying to establish bridges between faiths, and his visit is a sign of unity between the Catholic and Anglican traditions. The Duchess of Kent's first Catholic funeral for a member of the Royal Family in modern times was held earlier this month. The King and Queen attended herRequiem Mass. Also this month, the King visited the Oratory of St Philip Neri in Birmingham, which was founded by the 19th century Catholic theologian and philosopher St John Henry Newman. The King, then Prince of Wales, had attended Cardinal Newman's canonization in Rome in 2019. On their state visit to Italy, the King and Queen's private meeting with Pope Francis in April 2025 fell during the King's state visit. The meeting, which took place at Casa Santa Marta in Vatican City, where Pope Francis had been convalescing, lasted 20 minutes, with Buckingham Palace saying how

deeply touchedthey had been by the Pope'skind remarks" on their wedding anniversary. Following Francis' death, Robert Prevost, a Chicago immigrant, became Pope Leo XIV after being elected by the conclave of cardinals.

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