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 Michelangelo's "The Last Judgment" Scott 952 (1994) On Thursday, October 23, King Charles III of England began a state visit to the Vatican. Arriving in Rome on Wednesday evening, the king and his wife, Queen Camilla, traveled to the Apostolic Palace on Thursday morning, where they were greeted by a ceremonial honor guard consisting of members of the Swiss Guards. They then met privately with Pope Leo XIV. What followed was a historic first since the split between the Catholic Church and the Church of England close to 500 years ago. In a service entitled "Ecumenical Prayer for the Care of Creation", held in the Sistine Chapel, with Michelangelo’s masterpiece “The Last Judgment” as a backdrop, the pope and the king participated in an ecumenical prayer service, marking the first time a reigning English or British monarch has prayed publicly with a pope since King Henry VIII broke relations with Rome in 1534. King Charles, by virtue of his role as monarch, also holds the title of supreme governor of the mother church of Anglicanism. Two themes ran through the ceremony: Christian unity and care for the environment. Conservation and protection of the environment are areas of concern long championed by King Charles, and the service took place about 10 years after the issuance of Pope Francis' encyclical Laudato si’. The service also brought attention to the pope's desire to build bridges between Christian denominations. The opening hymn of the service came from an original text written by St. Ambrose of Milan and translated by St. John Henry Newman, the Anglican convert to Catholicism who will be elevated to the title of Doctor of the Church on November 1. The ecumenical prayer service further strengthened the relations being built between the Vatican and the United Kingdom, and helped fulfill a commitment of King Charles to increase interfaith engagement. In addition to the historic prayer service, the pope and king are also exchanging honorary titles. King Charles III will be given the title of "Royal Confrater" of the Abbey and Basilica of St. Paul Outside the Walls. Pope Leo will be honored by the king with the title of "Papal Confrater" of St. George's Chapel at Windsor Castle. The visit of King Charles to the Vatican was his second since his elevation to the throne in 2022. He visited privately with Pope Francis on April 9 of this year, just days before the pontiff’s death (a formal state visit was postponed due to concerns regarding the pope’s health). He had visited the Vatican five times as the Prince of Wales. REFERENCES: |
