Cliff Notes – King and Queen set to meet Pope next month
- State Visit Confirmed: King Charles and Queen Consort Camilla’s state visit to the Vatican to meet Pope Francis is scheduled for early April, despite the Pope’s ongoing health challenges.
- Significant Milestones: The King will become the first British monarch to visit the Papal Basilica of St Paul Outside the Walls and will address both houses of Italy‘s parliament during this visit.
- Commencement of Jubilee Celebrations: Their Majesties will participate in the 2025 jubilee celebrations with Pope Francis, focusing on the theme of ‘care for creation’ amid ongoing prayers for the pontiff’s health.
King and Queen set to meet Pope next month despite pontiff’s ill health
The King and Queen’s planned state visit to the Vatican to meet Pope Francis will go ahead despite his continuing ill health.
The palace confirmed that King Charles has written privately to the pontiff since he was admitted to hospital in February, and the historic gathering is still scheduled to take place in Rome in early April.
A Buckingham Palace source said they had shared “our hopes and prayers that Pope Francis’s health will enable the visit to go ahead”, although they signalled that alterations would be made to the visit if needed.
Outlining details of the planned meeting, a Buckingham Palace spokesperson said: “On Tuesday 8 April, and clearly subject to Pope Francis’s health, their majesties will visit the Holy See to join Pope Francis in celebrating the 2025 jubilee.
“Held traditionally once every 25 years, the jubilee is a special year for the Catholic Church; a year of reconciliation, prayer and walking together as ‘Pilgrims of Hope’, which is the jubilee’s theme.
“The King and Queen will have an audience with Pope Francis. Their Majesties will also attend a service in the Sistine Chapel, focused on the theme of ‘care for creation’, reflecting Pope Francis’s and His Majesty’s long-standing commitment to nature.”
The tour, from 7 to 10 April, will include two state visits to Rome and Ravenna in Italy, and the Holy See – the government of the Roman Catholic Church – in the Vatican.