King Charles III and Pope Leo XIV hold historic joint prayer in Sistine Chapel

Pope Leo XIV and Britain’s King Charles III prayed beneath Michelangelo’s fresco The Last Judgment in the Sistine Chapel.

It marked the first joint prayer in 500 years between the head of the Roman Catholic Church and the supreme governor of the Church of England, Caliber.Az reports, citing US media.

King Charles was accompanied by Queen Camilla, and the prayers were delivered in English and Latin.

The royal couple arrived in the Vatican on a state visit originally planned for April but postponed due to the poor health of former pontiff Francis, who passed away on April 21.

The official program also includes another ecumenical service at the Papal Basilica of St. Paul Outside the Walls.

The first joint prayer between the King and the Pope marks a powerful symbol of strengthening ties between the Catholic and Anglican churches — a central theme of the royal couple’s brief visit.

On Thursday morning, October 23, King Charles and Queen Camilla met the newly elected pontiff for the first time since his election in May, following their arrival in Rome the previous evening to mark the Holy Jubilee Year, celebrated every quarter century.

The visit is viewed by both the Vatican and Buckingham Palace as a “significant moment” in healing the centuries-old rift that began in 1534, when Henry VIII’s break from Rome led to the founding of the Church of England.

By Jeyhun Aghazada