Buckingham Palace releases key details ahead of King Charles and Queen Camilla's meeting with Pope Leo

The royal couple will join Pope Leo XIV to celebrate the 2025 Jubilee Year.

Traditionally marked every 25 years, the Jubilee is a special time for the Catholic Church.

The visit will mark King Charles and Queen Camilla's first meeting with Pope Leo XIV since his election in May 2025.

It is a significant moment in relations between the Catholic Church and Church of England, of which the King is the Supreme Governor, recognising the ecumenical work they have undertaken and reflecting the Jubilee year’s theme of walking together as ‘Pilgrims of Hope’.

In the first such occasions in many centuries, the Pope and the King will pray together in a unique ecumenical service at the Sistine Chapel, and the King, accompanied by the Queen, will attend a further ecumenical service in the Basilica of St Paul’s Outside the Walls.

Buckingham Palace confirmed the key details of the State Visit in its announcement, including outlining the list of planned engagements.

The King and Queen will meet Pope Leo XIV in the Apostolic Palace, following which, the King will meet Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Holy See’s Secretary of State.

Meanwhile the Queen will view the Pauline Chapel, which houses Michaelangelo’s last two frescoes of St Peter and St Paul.

King Charles, Queen Camilla and the Pope will then attend a special ecumenical service in the Sistine Chapel, focused on the theme of ‘Care for Creation’, reflecting Pope Leo’s and the King's commitment to the protection of Nature and concern for the environment.

The Children of the Choir of the King's Chapel Royal and the Choir of St. George’s Chapel, Windsor, will sing during the service, accompanied by the Sistine Chapel Choir.

Queen Camilla will remain in the Sistine Chapel following the service, to meet the choirs, whilst the King and the Pope join a meeting on sustainability, in the Sala Regia, reflecting the King's work over many decades on climate and Nature, as well as Pope Leo’s recognition of the importance of the issues.

Once the Queen has met the choirs, she will rejoin the King and the Pope, to meet the guests in the Sala Regia, before bidding farewell to the Pope and departing the Apostolic Palace

Following the visit to the Holy See, in an historic step, King Charles, accompanied by Queen Camilla, will also visit the Papal Basilica and Abbey of St. Paul’s Outside the Walls.

King Charles has agreed to the Pope’s suggestion that he become ‘Royal Confrater’ of the Abbey.

This gift of ‘confraternity’ is a recognition of spiritual fellowship.

In further celebration of this new bond, the Basilica of St Paul’s Outside the Walls has created a special seat for King Charles, which will remain in the Basilica as a perpetual mark of mutual respect between Pope Leo and the King as Heads of State.

The special chair is decorated with the King’s Coat of Arms.

The King will use this chair during the service, after which it will remain in the apse of the Basilica for future use by King Charles and his heirs and successors.

Following the St Paul’s Outside the Walls visit, the King will attend a reception at The Pontifical Beda College, a seminary which trains priests from across the Commonwealth, meeting students and members of the British and Vatican community.

Meanwhile, Queen will meet six Catholic Sisters from The International Union of Superiors General, who are working around the world at grassroots level to support female empowerment, through girls’ education programmes, improved access to healthcare, climate action, peace building and tackling sexual violence and human trafficking.

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