King Charles III prays with pope in historic visit, a welcome respite from royal troubles at home

VATICAN CITY (AP) – King Charles III and Queen Camilla prayed Thursday with Pope Leo XIV in an historic visit to the Vatican to forge closer relations between the Church of England and the Catholic Church, a welcome spiritual respite for the royals from the turmoil at home over sexual misconduct allegations against Prince Andrew.

Charles, who is the titular head of the Church of England, and Camilla sat in golden thrones on the raised altar of the Sistine Chapel, in front of Michelangelo’s “Last Judgment,” while Leo and the Anglican archbishop of York presided over an ecumenical service.

The event marked the first time since the Reformation that the heads of the two Christian churches, divided for centuries over issues that now include the ordination of female priests, have prayed together.

The accompanying music reflected the Catholic and Anglican musical heritage: Hymns were sung by members of both the Sistine Chapel choir and visiting members of two royal choirs: the St. George’s Chapel choir of Windsor Castle and the children’s choir of the Chapel Royal of St. James’s Palace.

The visit comes as the U.K. royal family is once again under intense scrutiny over Prince Andrew’s ties with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. The scandal that has long dogged the king’s brother was reignited this week after a memoir by Epstein and Andrew accuser Virginia Giuffre was published.

The 65-year-old prince has said he will stop using his titles, including Duke of York, but has “vigorously” denied Giuffre’s claims. Buckingham Palace and the U.K. government are under pressure to formally strip Andrew of his dukedom and princely title, and kick him out of the 30-room mansion near Windsor Castle where he lives.

Charles’ and Camilla’s visit had actually been planned for earlier this year, but was rescheduled after Pope Francis got sick and then died. Charles had strongly wanted to visit the Vatican during the 2025 Holy Year, a once-every-quarter-century celebration of Christianity.

Anglicans split from the Catholic Church in 1534 when English King Henry VIII was refused a marriage annulment. While popes for decades have forged warm relations with the Church of England and the broader Anglican Communion on a path toward greater unity, the two churches remain divided.

The Sistine Chapel service, though, marked a historic new step toward unity and included readings and prayers focused on the unifying theme of God the creator.

Later Thursday, Charles traveled to a pontifical basilica that has strong, traditional ties to the Church of England, St. Paul’s Outside the Walls, to receive a new formal recognition. The title “Royal Confrater” is a sign of spiritual fellowship and was reciprocated by Charles: Leo was given the title of “Papal Confrater of St George’s Chapel, Windsor Castle.”

At the basilica, Charles sat in a special chair decorated with his coat of arms, bearing the Latin exhortation “Ut Unum Sint” (That they may be one), the mantra for Christian unity. The chair was given to him and will remain in the basilica for Charles and his heirs to use, officials said.

Cardinal Vincent Nichols, the Catholic archbishop of Westminster, said that the king’s visit strengthens the relationship forged by Queen Elizabeth II, who came to Rome six times during her reign, including during the 2000 Holy Year.

“Pope Leo and King Charles coming together before God in prayer is an example of a genuine and profound cooperation,” he told The Associated Press. He recalled that Charles accepted his constitutional role as supreme governor of the Church of England, “but also his role in protecting freedom of religion and the important role of faith in society across his kingdom.”

The visit comes just weeks after the election of the first female archbishop of Canterbury, Sarah Mullally. She didn’t join the king and queen at the Vatican, since she hasn’t been formally installed as the Church of England’s spiritual leader. In her place was the archbishop of York, the Most Rev. Stephen Cottrell.

While the king copes with tensions over the Epstein scandal at home, Mullally’s election has heightened tensions within the Anglican Communion abroad. The archbishop of Canterbury is considered the “first among equals” in the Anglican Communion, which has more than 85 million members spread across 165 countries. But following Mullally’s appointment, a long-building schism in the Anglican Communion appears close to a final rupture.

An organization of conservative Anglican primates – representing a majority of the communion’s membership, primarily in Africa – announced that it’s rejecting all of the bureaucratic links that have historically connected the Anglican Communion.

The Global Fellowship of Confessing Anglicans, known as Gafcon, says it’s forming a new structure, although it claims it represents the historic Anglican Communion in a “reordered” form.

Its statement denounced the LGBTQ-affirming stances of some parts of the Anglican Communion as precipitating the break, a reference to positions taken by the Church of England and the Episcopal Church in the United States. But it closely followed another Gafcon statement lamenting Mullally’s appointment, saying that many believe that only men can be bishops and rejecting her office as a defining point of Anglican unity.

___

Peter B. Smith contributed to this report from Pittsburgh.

___

Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the AP’s collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content.