ROME – In an historic event, Pope Leo XIV and King Charles III of England met for a private audience Thursday, followed by a joint ecumenical prayer with the two faith leaders inside the Sistine Chapel.

The Oct. 23 prayer marked the first time that pope and a head of the Church of England have prayed together in 500 years, since the Reformation, when King Henry XVIII split away from the Catholic Church after the pope refused to grant him a divorce and formed the Church of England, declaring himself as its head.

King Charles and his wife Queen Camilla arrived in the Vatican at 10:45 a.m. local time and had a private audience with Pope Leo.

Afterward, Charles held a meeting with Vatican Secretary of State Italian Cardinal Pietro Parolin, who was the first papal representative to attend the coronation ceremony of a British monarch inside Westminster Abbey since the Reformation.

During their meeting, Camilla visited the Pauline Chapel in the Vatican’s Apostolic Palace and was introduced to Barbara Jatta, director of the Vatican Museums, who offered an explanation of the history of the chapel, where cardinals traditionally assembly prior to the start of a conclave.

The Royal couple was originally scheduled to meet Pope Francis during an official state visit in April, however, Francis was unable to keep the appointment due to ill health. They held a brief private meeting instead.

In Monday’s meeting, King Charles gifted the pope with a silver portrait and icon of Saint Edward the Confessor, while Leo XIV gave the Royal couple a version of the Christ Pantocrator mosaic in Cefalù, in Sicily.

Pope Leo and the Royal couple after their meetings and tour of the Pauline Chapel processed into the Sistine Chapel, where they participated in an ecumenical prayer service that was also attended by the Archbishop of York, Stephen Cottrell.

The service featured scripture readings, prayers and chants by both His Majesty’s Chapel Royal and the choir of St George’s Chapel in Windsor Castle, as well as the Sistine Chapel choir.

At the conclusion of the prayer, the pope and the King made their way into the Sala Regia next to the Sistine Chapel, where they met representatives of various climate organizations and leaders in the private sector committed to Sustainable Markets Initiative, founded by the King prior to his ascension to the throne. The pope and the monarch also exchanged gifts of trees to be planted.

King Charles has long been committed to the climate issue, as have all recent popes, with Benedict XVI installing solar panels on the Vatican’s Paul VI audience hall and introducing recycling inside Vatican City.

Pope Francis in 2015 published his environmental encyclical Laudato Si, and was consistently engaged in discussions on climate change and sustainable development. Pope Leo recently inaugurated the Borgo Laudato Si sustainable environmental project at his summer residence in Castel Gandolfo, and celebrated a special Mass for the Care of Creation at the location.

Prior to their departure from the Vatican, the Royal couple privately viewed two tapestries by famed artist Raphael that were re-hung inside the Sistine Chapel in honor of their visit.

Thursday’s meeting marked the first visit between King Charles and Pope Leo, and it also marked a significant step in reconciliation between two churches whose history has been rife with tension, but which have slowly taken steps of rapprochement in recent decades.

Pope Leo in his first address from the balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica after his election May 8 voiced his commitment to “build bridges, with dialogue, with encounter, uniting us all to be one people, always in peace.”

King Charles during his coronation ceremony in 2023 likewise made strong gestures of openness and an intention for dialogue, allowing leaders of Christian denominations beyond the Church of England, including Catholics, as well as followers of non-Christian faiths to be present inside Westminster Abbey for the occasion.

Among those in attendance were Buddhist, Hindu, Jewish, Muslim and Sikh leaders, as well as several Catholic bishops and Vatican officials.

It was the first time a Catholic leader had been physically present inside Westminster Abbey for a coronation, following a progressive thaw in relations between the Catholic and Anglican churches over the past century – a process that saw renewed energy after the Second Vatican Council and its emphasis on ecumenical dialogue.

Following their visit to the Vatican Thursday, the Royal couple traveled across town to the Basilica of St. Paul Outside the Walls to attend an ecumenical service in honor of the King’s reception of the title, “Royal Confrater” of the Abbey of St Paul’s.

They walked through the basilica’s holy door upon their arrival, which is only opened during jubilee years, which happen ordinarily every 25 years in the Catholic Church.

Afterward they were scheduled to pray at the tomb of Saint Paul before the Abbot of the Abbey of St. Paul attached to the basilica, Donato Ogliari, read out the Chart confirming the Confratership, and a 30-minute Vespers service and a visit by the Royal couple to school children and members of the public and congregation.

Queen Camilla was also scheduled to meet with members of the International Union of Superiors General, a global umbrella organization of women religious, during their visit.

Follow Elise Ann Allen on Twitter: @eliseannallen