Buckingham Palace has confirmed that King Charles III and Queen Camilla will pay a state visit to the Vatican next month, where they will meet Pope Leo XIV for the first time. The late-October trip will coincide with the Catholic Church’s jubilee year, observed every 25 years, under the theme “pilgrims of hope.”
The visit highlights a commitment to ecumenical dialogue between the Church of England and the Catholic Church. It will also make up for the couple’s canceled state visit earlier this year, which was disrupted by the declining health of Pope Francis. Charles and Camilla managed a private audience with Francis in April, shortly before his passing at the age of 88.
Pope Leo XIV, elected in May, is the first American pontiff and brings with him a legacy of missionary work in Peru. At 70, he now leads the global community of 1.4 billion Catholics.
For King Charles, this upcoming visit continues a long history of Vatican engagements. As Prince of Wales, he met with three popes across five visits, including Benedict XVI in 2009 and John Paul II during the latter’s visit to Britain in 1982.
As Supreme Governor of the Church of England, King Charles presides over a denomination born of England’s 16th-century split from Rome. Despite that history of division, today’s relations between Anglicans and Catholics are marked by cooperation and shared values, with the environment and global peace high on the agenda.
This meeting between Charles, Camilla, and Pope Leo XIV symbolizes a renewed chapter in interfaith dialogue—bridging centuries of history while looking toward a more unified and hopeful future.
