King Charles and Queen Camilla will travel to Italy and the Vatican in April to meet with Pope Francis, as the Catholic Church celebrates a special Jubilee year, which takes place every quarter of a century.
The British monarch will join the expected 32 million people set to make the pilgrimage to the “Eternal City” this year. The Catholic Jubilee Year – or Holy Year – was established in the 14th century by Pope Boniface VIII and is 12 months focused on forgiveness and reconciliation.
Pilgrims are encouraged to pass through one of the “Holy Doors” located in Rome’s four major basilicas, while Francis has called for this jubilee to be centered on “hope,” which he underlined by opening the first “Holy Door” in a prison.
“Their Majesties The King and Queen will undertake State Visits to the Holy See and the Republic of Italy in early April 2025,” Buckingham Palace said on Thursday. “During Their Majesties’ State visit to the Holy See, The King and Queen will join His Holiness Pope Francis in celebrating the 2025 Jubilee Year.”
While in the country, Charles and Camilla are also set to shore up the bonds between Italy and the United Kingdom, carrying out engagements in Rome and Ravenna in the northern Emilia-Romagna region.
King Charles – who as the supreme governor of the Church of England is known to be deeply faithful and regularly attends services – has met Francis on several occasions. In fact, the upcoming trip will be their third encounter – though their first since Charles acceded the throne.
It will also be the second time that Francis has met a British monarch, with the pontiff having hosted Queen Elizabeth II and the Duke of Edinburgh in the Vatican in 2014.
Despite the turbulent past of the Reformation and King Henry VIII’s break with Rome almost 500 years ago, relations between the Vatican and the British monarchy are today marked by warmth and mutual respect. The UK and the Holy See have had full diplomatic relations since 1982.
King Charles and Francis are both passionate defenders of the environment and champion the importance of interfaith dialogue – topics that are likely to come up during their meeting. The King has also expressed support for persecuted Christians in the Middle East through his collaboration with a Catholic charity.
Relations have also been boosted by the King’s interest in religious faith and respect for the Catholic Church, while the Pope gifted relics of the True Cross, two wooden splinters from what is believed to be the cross on which Christ was crucified, for Charles’ coronation. The fragments were incorporated into a new processional cross that was specially made for the lavish religious ceremony in 2023 and was then gifted to the Church in Wales. Charles’ coronation was attended by two cardinals, one of whom was a personal representative of the Pope. It marked the first time in almost half a century that Catholic prelates were involved in a British coronation.
As Prince of Wales, Charles visited Vatican City on five occasions. He was present in St. Peter’s Square for the 2019 canonization ceremony of Saint John Henry Newman, an influential theologian who converted to Catholicism after years as an Anglican priest. At that time, the King wrote an article praising Newman and thanked the Pope for his environmental efforts.
Francis, who regularly meets world leaders when they visit Italy, will see the meeting as a chance to deepen relations with the King. In 2017, the Pope encouraged Charles to be a “man of peace,” to which the future King replied: “I’ll do my best.”
But it hasn’t always been plain sailing for the King when it comes to the Vatican.
In 2005, the then-Prince of Wales had to postpone his wedding to Camilla Parker-Bowles as it clashed with the funeral of Pope John Paul II. The prince himself attended the papal funeral but, awkwardly, during the service he shook hands with Zimbabwe’s brutal then-president Robert Mugabe while performing the sign of peace.
While the exact dates of the King and Queen’s forthcoming Italy trip have not yet been revealed, speculation is mounting that the visit could coincide with their 20th wedding anniversary on April 9.
Charles’ other two visits were in 2009 and 1985.
At the end of their meeting, Francis and Charles are expected to exchange gifts. When the Pope met Queen Elizabeth II, Francis gave her a gift for Prince George (then 8 months old). It was a Lapis Lazuli orb, decorated with a silver cross of the 11th century monarch Edward the Confessor, and on the base was engraved: “Pope Francis, to His Royal Highness Prince George of Cambridge.” The Queen in return gifted the Pope a hamper of produce from the royal estates.
And in 2017, the Pope gave Charles a copy of his encyclical on climate change, other papal writings, and a bronze olive branch signifying peace. Charles, who was accompanied on that trip by Camilla then as well, hadn’t come empty handed. He gave the Pope a hamper of produce from Highgrove, telling Francis: “It may come in handy.”
