The state visit of the King and Queen Camilla to the Vatican to meet Pope Leo on Thursday 23 October will be a historic occasion. The monarch and the leader of the Roman Catholic Church will pray together in the Sistine Chapel for the first time since the Reformation.
The King, who is Supreme Governor of the Church of England, will participate in an ecumenical service jointly led by Pope Leo and the Archbishop of York, Stephen Cottrell. Later, King Charles and Queen Camilla will visit the Papal Basilica of St Paul’s Outside the Walls, where the King will be given the title of Royal Confrater of St Paul, and a special chair has been made for him which will be used by him and his successors when they visit.
In this briefing, Leo Devine hosts a discussion on the significance of the visit and what it says about the relationship between Anglicans and Roman Catholics, and the characters of the King and the Pope. Speakers are:
- Author and journalist, Catherine Pepinster
- Former Vatican correspondent, Christopher White, author of “Pope Leo XIV: Inside the Conclave and the Dawn of a New Papacy”
- Francis Campbell, former ambassador to the Holy See
- Dr James Hawkey, Canon Theologian of Westminster Abbey, writer on Anglican/RC dialogue
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