Royals
King Charles Makes History by Being First British Royal to Pray With Catholic Pope Leo
It was a once-in-a-century meeting on Thursday, October 23 when King Charles III prayed alongside Pope Leo at the Vatican.
The British monarch, 76, attended a service at the famed Sistine Chapel in a historic moment.
It is the first time since the 1500s that an English sovereign has attended a public liturgy with a Catholic pope.
As fans of The Tudors know, King Henry VIII split from the Catholic Church to head the Church of England in the 16th century in order to marry his ill-fated second wife, Anne Boleyn.
Charles’ wife, Queen Camilla, 78, also joined him for the spiritual event, with the couple first joining Pope Leo, 70, in a meeting before mass.
The two met the pontiff at the Apostolic Palace, where they joined together to exchange presents.
Charles gifted the Pope with an intricate photograph that had a silver frame, as well as an icon painting of St. Edward the Confessor.
Pope Leo gave Charles a miniature portrait of the Christ Pantocrator mosaic that sits in the Cathedral of Cefalù in Sicily.
The king was supposed to spend an extended period of time with the late Pope Francis when he was visiting Rome this past April. However, the previous Holy Father’s health was declining and he died on April 21. Instead, Charles had met Pope Francis for a quick moment on April 9.
After the king and queen’s holy visit, they are set to stop by the Papal Basilica and Abbey of St. Paul’s Outside the Walls.
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