Buckingham Palace sources have revealed that King Charles III and Queen Camilla remain hopeful that their planned visit to the Vatican for a meeting with Pope Francis will take place on their upcoming trip to the nation-state, despite the pontiff’s recent illness. 

Palace officials expressed their “hopes and prayers that Pope Francis’ health will enable the visit to go ahead”, telling Reuters that the sovereign, who sent a private letter to the Pope when he became ill, shared their sentiments.

The King and Queen had announced plans to visit the Pope in April, but Francis was hospitalised in February after contracting bronchitis, with the Vatican announcing he was in a critical condition after a “prolonged asthma-like respiratory crisis”. Recent updates suggest the Pope is improving, and he was discharged from hospital on Sunday.

The King, who has been fighting his own health battle with cancer, already met Pope Francis during visits to Rome in 2017 and 2019, but this trip would mark their first meeting since he was crowned. While Prince of Wales, Charles also met with Pope Benedict XVI during a 2009 visit, and with Pope John Paul II in Canterbury during the historic first-ever visit of a reigning Pope to British soil in 1982.

On becoming King, Charles automatically became the Supreme Governor of the Church of England, which split from the Roman Catholic Church in 1534, and both leaders of both Churches have made building ecumenical and interfaith relations a significant focus throughout their lives.

A palace statement said that King Charles would become the first ruling English monarch to visit the Papal Basilica of St. Paul’s Outside the Walls, with which English Kings had a special association until the Reformation. It is also recognised as the Papal Basilica where reconciliation, ecumenism, and relationships across the Christian faith are celebrated.

“[The King’s] visit to the Holy See will be an historic visit in the year of the Papal Jubilee, and will mark a significant step forward in relations between the Catholic Church and Church of England with a special service in the Sistine Chapel, joining hands in a celebration of ecumenism,” the statement said.

The service at the historic Sistine Chapel will reflect another shared commitment of the King and Pontiff, focusing on the theme of “care for creation”. The King has long been a champion of the environment, often being mocked in the 80s and 90s for espousing views that are now recognised as being ahead of their time. The pontiff has also spoken frequently on themes of humanity’s responsibility as stewards of the Earth, and has been a loud voice in the fight against climate change.

The choir of George’s Chapel, Windsor will join the King, performing at both St Paul’s Outside the Walls and at the Sistine Chapel, where they will be accompanied by the Sistine Chapel Choir.

The King will also meet with seminarians from across the Commonwealth and the British Vatican community, while Queen Camilla will meet Catholic sisters from The International Union of Superiors General. Their work at a grassroots level around the world to empower women through girls’ education programmes, improved access to healthcare, climate action, and the prevention of sexual violence and human trafficking echoes a cause dear to the Queen’s heart.

As well as visiting the Vatican, the King and Queen will use their trip to spend time in Italy and celebrate the many historical ties between the two nations. The King will attend a roundtable on Clean Energy Supply Chains chaired by the Foreign Secretary, hearing the outcomes of the meeting of business leaders and others involved in the sector, as well as meeting with local farmers, whose land and crops have been severely affected by the devastating floods that have afflicted the Ravenna region in recent years.

While in Ravenna, the King and Queen will also visit the tomb of Dante Alighieri, author of some of Christendom’s greatest literary works, while Her Majesty will attend a reception for local book clubs, libraries, book shops, and representatives from Her Majesty’s charity, The Queen’s Reading Room.