King Charles and Pope Leo are to become the first British monarch and pontiff to pray together at a church service since the Reformation in the 16th Century.

The royal visit, scheduled on 22-23 October, is designed to emphasise the friendly relations between the Catholic Church and the Church of England, of which King Charles is supreme governor. This historic moment will be in the Sistine Chapel in the Vatican. Under the chapel’s famous ceiling painted by Michelangelo, the service will bring together clergy and choirs from both the Roman Catholic church and the Church of England, of which the King is supreme governor.

The state visit on 22 and 23 October will see a series of meetings and services emphasising the warm relations between the Church of England and the Catholic church. The King and Queen will meet the Pope and senior Vatican officials and there will be a special ecumenical service, bringing together Catholic and Anglican traditions, which will see the King and Pope praying together. The service in the Sistine Chapel will be focused on protecting nature, in recognition of the King’s support of environmental causes.

But its purpose will be to show harmony between the two religious denominations, with the Sistine Chapel Choir singing alongside the Choir of St George’s Chapel and the Choir of His Majesty’s Chapel Royal.

The decision to have the King and Pope pray alongside each other comes almost exactly 25 years after such a move was rejected for Queen Elizabeth II and Pope John Paul II during her visit to the Vatican in 2000. Then, The Guardian newspaper reported that the plan had “been dropped after concerns that it would upset factions in the Church of England.” “The move, which would have seen the Supreme Governor of the Church in England praying with the head of Roman Catholicism, would have been interpreted as a hugely significant act of reconciliation following nearly 500 years of largely rancorous division since Henry VIII led the church in England away from Rome,” The Guardian reported at the time.

Central to the visit will be an ecumenical service in the Sistine Chapel on Thursday 23 October when Charles and Leo will become the first British monarch and pontiff to pray side by side since Henry VIII split from Rome more than 500 years ago.

The service will be dedicated to the care of creation, according to Vatican News, in line with the two central themes of the royal visit: Christian unity and care for the planet.

The Sistine Chapel Choir will sing alongside the Choir of St George’s Chapel and the Choir of His Majesty’s Chapel Royal under the ceiling painted by Michelangelo, where the first US pope was elected five months ago.

The king and queen will also visit the Basilica of St Paul Outside the Walls – a church with a historic connection to the English crown – where Charles will be formally granted the title Royal Confrater of Saint Paul.

Previous visits

The royal visit was rearranged after a previous visit, scheduled during a four-day tour in Italy earlier this year, was postponed due to the poor health of Leo’s predecessor, Pope Francis.

The king and queen met Francis briefly on 9 April, on their 20th wedding anniversary, less than two weeks before the pontiff’s death on Easter Monday.

Charles had previously visited the Vatican on five occasions as Prince of Wales, meeting three pontiffs: John Paul II, Benedict XVI, and Francis.

In April 2017, the then Prince Charles and Camilla Duchess of Cornwall paid an official visit to Italy during which they met then prime minister Paolo Gentiloni, president Sergio Mattarella, and Pope Francis.

In October 2019, the Prince of Wales travelled to Rome to attend the canonisation ceremony of Blessed Cardinal John Henry Newman at the Vatican.

On 1 November, Pope Leo will declare Newman a Doctor of the Church at a major ceremony that will be attended by a high-ranking Anglican delegation.

The upcoming visit by King Charles and Queen Camilla comes during the Vatican’s Jubilee Year, a holy event that occurs in Rome every 25 years.