A special ecumenical prayer service at the Basilica of St Paul’s Outside the Walls on Friday evening (23 October 2026) commemorated the first anniversary of the State Visit by HM King Charles III and HM Queen Camilla to the Holy See.

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In his words of welcome, Cardinal James Harvey recalled that a year ago His Majesty was welcomed officially as Royal Confrater of the Basilica and its Abbey.

Cardinal Harvey added: “Extended with the consent of His Holiness Pope Leo XIV, this gift of confraternity was a gesture of hospitality and spiritual fellowship, reflecting the historic links between the English monarchy and this place, and the deep friendship between the Roman Catholic Church and the Church of England.

“Today, as we recall the royal visit of one year ago, let us also pray for health and wholeness for Pope Leo and King Charles. May the Holy Spirit, the Comforter, Healer and Giver of Life, uphold them and sustain them along the path of service to which they have been called.”

Following an address by the United Kingdom’s Ambassador to the Holy See, Ms Tammy Sandhu MBE, Benedictine Abbot Dom Donato Ogliari OSB prayed: “God our Father, source of all consolation, inspired by the life and teaching of Saint Paul the Apostle, we come before you, to praise your name and to seek your blessing.

“May we, like Saint Paul, live in Christ your Son, who loved us and gave his life for us. Give us the grace to be apostles of the Gospel in the darkness of our times, imitating Paul, just as he imitated Christ, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, One God, for ever and ever. Amen.”

The State Visit included morning prayers in the Sistine Chapel – the first public time of prayer by the Pope and a British monarch since the Reformation – and the conferment, on King Charles, of the title of Royal Confrater of Saint Paul in the Basilica.

A special chair in the Basilica, crafted for the King’s participation in the event, bears the British royal coat of arms and John 17:21 in Latin – Ut unum sint (That they may beone).

Sung worship was led by the monks of the Abbey, and the service was attended by representatives of Christian traditions in Rome at the invitation of the British Embassy to the Holy See.

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Photos courtesy of the British Embassy to the Holy See