King Charles III to visit Vatican in October

AFP/APP

London: King Charles III, head of the Church of England, and Queen Camilla will make a state visit to the Vatican next month to meet Pope Leo XIV for the first time, Buckingham Palace announced Saturday.

“Their Majesties The King and Queen will undertake a State Visit to the Holy See in late October 2025,” the palace statement said.

The visit comes around six months after the royal couple met Leo’s predecessor, Pope Francis, shortly before his death on April 21. Francis, who led the Catholic Church for 12 years, was succeeded by Leo on May 8 following a conclave of cardinals.

Pope Leo, 70, is the first American pope and is noted for his missionary work in Peru.

During their visit, Charles and Camilla will join Pope Leo in events marking the special Jubilee Year, celebrated every 25 years. According to the palace, the trip will also highlight ongoing ecumenical efforts between the Church of England and the Catholic Church, under the Jubilee theme of walking together as “Pilgrims of Hope.”

The Church of England, the mother church of global Anglicanism, was founded in the 16th century after King Henry VIII broke with Rome over the refusal to annul his marriage to Catherine of Aragon. While the split caused centuries of conflict, relations between the two churches in modern times have become increasingly cordial.

Jubilee year context

Charles, 76, last met Pope Francis in April, despite the pontiff’s poor health. Their meeting, which focused on shared concerns such as environmental protection, was part of a four-day royal visit to Italy that itself had been uncertain due to the king’s own health scare.

On March 27, Charles was briefly hospitalized after experiencing temporary side effects from his cancer treatment, announced in 2024.

As Prince of Wales, Charles visited the Vatican five times and met three popes. He was received by Francis in 2017 and 2019, by Benedict XVI in 2009, and by John Paul II in Britain in 1982. He also attended John Paul II’s funeral at the Vatican in 2005.