VATICAN CITY – NOT FOR USE UNTIL 1100GMT; EMBARGOED

The Catholic Church and Church of England, divided for centuries over issues that now include the ordination of female priests, will take a historic step on the path to unity next week when Britain’s King Charles III and Pope Leo XIV pray together in the Sistine Chapel, officials said Friday.

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The Oct. 23 ecumenical prayer service, drawing on the shared concern for care of God’s creation, marks the first time since the Reformation that the heads of the two Christian churches pray together.

Buckingham Palace and Vatican officials on Friday announced details of the two-day trip that Charles and Queen Camilla will undertake on Oct. 22-23, a visit that was scheduled for April but was postponed after Pope Francis' fina

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