A gesture of historic unity between Catholics and Anglicans in the Vatican

This morning, October 23, 2025, the Vatican witnessed a symbolic moment of spiritual closeness when Pope Leo XIV presided over an ecumenical prayer with King Charles III and Queen Camilla, during the State Visit of the British Crown. The ceremony—in Latin and English—sought to elevate praise to the Creator and reaffirm the shared commitment to Christian reconciliation and care for creation.

An act unprecedented in centuries

The solemn celebration took place in the Sistine Chapel, a solemn space filled with artistic symbols that accompanied the liturgy. For the first time in approximately 500 years, representatives of the Catholic Church and the Anglican Communion shared a public prayer. The occasion included an exchange of orchids between the Pope and the British monarchs as a symbol of their shared duty to the natural environment.

Dialogue and symbolism in the day

The King and Queen arrived at the Vatican just after 10:50, crossing the Arch of the Bells, and were received with formal honors. After the performance of the hymn “God Save the King,” they held a private audience with the Holy Father. While the Queen went to the Pauline Chapel, the King held meetings in the Secretariat of State with high-ranking Vatican officials, focusing on topics such as bilateral cooperation, social justice, global peace, and ecumenical dialogue.

Image and song in liturgical unity

The ceremony began with a hymn by Saint Ambrose of Milan, performed in an English version by Saint John Henry Newman, who lived part of his life as an Anglican and part as a Catholic. Along with the Pope and the Archbishop of York, Stephen Cottrell, various ecumenical and ecclesiastical figures, both British and Roman, participated in the celebration. Children’s and adult choirs from the British Chapels Royal and the Pontifical Choir accompanied the liturgy, which included Psalms 8 and 64, a reading from the Letter to the Romans, and the hymn ” If Ye Love Me”  by Thomas Tallis. At the end, the Pope and the King left the chapel together, symbolically walking in communion toward dialogue.

The environmental dimension and the “path to one”

Following the prayer, an event on environmental sustainability was held in the Sala Regia, led by Sister Alessandra Smerilli. The symbolic exchange of orchids reinforced the message of shared ecological responsibility. During the afternoon, the King and Queen visited the Basilica of St. Paul Outside the Walls, where the conferral of the title of Confrater Royal of St. Paul to King Charles III was anticipated. The Basilica features a decorated royal coat of arms and the Latin inscription Ut unum sint  (“That they may be one”), quoted from the Gospel of John.