Vatican City, Oct 17, 2025 / 09:58 am

For the first time since the Protestant Reformation, a reigning British monarch and a pope will pray together publicly during a royal state visit to the Vatican.

King Charles III will join in ecumenical prayer presided over by Pope Leo XIV for the care of creation inside the Sistine Chapel on Oct. 23, beneath Michelangelo’s frescoed ceiling, during the king’s first state visit to the Vatican with Queen Camila.

The Sistine Chapel Choir will sing together with England’s Choir of St. George's Chapel and the Choir of His Majesty's Chapel Royal for the historic ecumenical prayer which will focus on praising God the Creator, Vatican officials said.

Stephen Cottrell, the Anglican Archbishop of York, will also participate.

The visit will mark the first me

See Full Page