King Charles III and Queen Camilla are set to undertake a state visit to the Vatican in October, where they will meet Pope Leo XIV for the first time. This significant engagement, announced by Buckingham Palace, underscores the friendly and deepening relations between the Catholic Church and the Church of England, of which King Charles is the Supreme Governor. The visit will also coincide with a special “jubilee” year for the Catholic Church, held every 25 years, with the royal couple joining Pope Leo under the theme of “pilgrims of hope,” emphasizing unity and shared spiritual journeys.

The planned state visit had been previously postponed earlier this year due to the declining health of Pope Francis. Despite the postponement, King Charles and Queen Camilla were able to have a brief private meeting with Pope Francis in April on their 20th wedding anniversary. This proved to be one of the late pontiff’s last high-profile meetings before his passing later that month at the age of 88, after 12 years as the head of the world’s 1.4 billion Catholics. Buckingham Palace conveyed that they had been “deeply touched” by the Pope’s “kind remarks” during their 20-minute meeting at the Vatican’s Casa Santa Marta, where Pope Francis had been convalescing.

Following Pope Francis’s death, Robert Prevost, an American cardinal born in Chicago with a distinguished history of missionary work in Peru, was elected Pope Leo XIV by the conclave of cardinals in May. The 70-year-old Pope Leo XIV is notable for being the first pontiff from the United States, bringing a fresh perspective to the Holy See.

King Charles has consistently worked for many years to build bridges between faiths, a commitment evident in several recent events. Earlier this month, the first Catholic funeral for a member of the Royal Family in modern times was held for the Duchess of Kent, with both the King and Queen attending her Requiem Mass. The King also visited the Oratory of St Philip Neri in Birmingham, a site associated with the 19th-century Catholic theologian and philosopher St John Henry Newman, whose canonisation the King, then the Prince of Wales, had attended in Rome in 2019.

This upcoming visit continues a long history of engagement between the British monarchy and the Vatican. As Prince of Wales, King Charles visited the Vatican on five previous occasions, meeting three different popes: Pope Francis during visits in 2017 and 2019, Benedict XVI in 2009, and John Paul II during his 1982 visit to Britain, later attending John Paul II’s funeral at the Vatican in 2005.

Historically, relations between the Church of England and the Vatican have been complex, stemming from the 16th century when King Henry VIII broke with Rome over the annulment of his marriage to Catherine of Aragon, a split that fueled centuries of conflict. However, in modern times, these relations have become increasingly amicable and cooperative, with the King’s state visit serving as a powerful symbol of this strengthened ecumenical dialogue.

The King’s own health briefly cast a shadow over his April trip to Italy, as he was admitted to hospital on March 27 after experiencing temporary side effects from his cancer treatment, which was announced last year. However, his subsequent recovery has ensured that this important state visit can proceed as planned.