Under Michelangelo’s Last Judgment in the Sistine Chapel, King Charles III—divorced and remarried—joined Pope Leo XIV for an ecumenical service, the first public prayer between a British monarch and a pontiff in centuries. Led by Archbishop of York Stephen Cottrell with Anglican and Catholic choirs, the English-and-Latin ceremony highlighted warmer relations and the king’s push for religious tolerance during a Vatican state visit tied to the Jubilee. In a second service, he is expected to take the honorary title of Royal Confrater, as both sides sidestep divisive issues while sharing concern over climate change.

Prepared by Emily Rhodes and reviewed by editorial team.