Buckingham Palace announced in a Feb. 7 statement that King Charles and Queen Camilla of England will travel to the Vatican to meet with Pope Francis in April.
The statement said the pair “will undertake state visits to the Holy See and the Republic of Italy in early April 2025.”
“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. Traditionally held once every 25 years, the jubilee is a special year for the Catholic Church, a year of walking together as ‘Pilgrims of Hope,’” the statement reads.
The visit will continue a tradition of British royal involvement in the celebration, following Queen Elizabeth II’s travels to the Vatican during the 2000 Jubilee Year. The queen attended a private meeting with Pope John Paul II, one of five popes she encountered through her years of royalty.
The anticipated visit will be King Charles’ first time in Italy as monarch but his third time meeting with Pope Francis. The then-prince met with the pope in 2017 when Pope Francis told him to be a “man of peace,” to which Charles replied: “I’ll do my best.” The two met again in 2019 on a trip Charles took with Camilla.
According to Buckingham Palace, “during their majesties’ state visit to the Republic of Italy, the king and queen will undertake engagements in Rome and Ravenna, celebrating the strong bilateral relationship between Italy and the United Kingdom.”
This article was originally published on Catholic News Agency.
