ROME – Pope Leo XIV prayed Thursday with King Charles III and Queen Camilla under the frescoed ceiling of the Sistine Chapel, marking a first time a British monarch publicly worshipped with a sitting pontiff since Henry VIII broke with the Vatican and formed the Church of England in 1534.

For Leo, the Chicago-born pontiff, the British guests also mark the start of his highest-profile international diplomacy since ascending to the throne of St. Peter in May. Next month, he is scheduled to underscore interfaith relations again with a trip to two Muslim-majority nations, Turkey and Lebanon. Leo’s call for mutual respect among and between faiths has been a hallmark of his early papacy.

The long-planned visit for the British royal household offered a distraction from the controversy over Prin

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