Pope Francis greeted England’s King Charles and Queen Camilla on Wednesday in a brief meeting in which the dignitaries wished each other well at the pope’s private residence.
The Holy See Press Office said in a Wednesday statement that the pope “met privately with Their Majesties, King Charles and Queen Camilla, this afternoon.”
“During the meeting, the pope had the opportunity to address a wish to Their Majesties on the occasion of the anniversary of their marriage,” the statement said.
The pope also “reciprocated to His Majesty the wish for a speedy recovery of his health.”
That detail in the statement was a reference to the health concerns the two heads of state have faced in recent months — Charles with a cancer diagnosis and the pope with a monthlong stay at Rome’s Gemelli Hospital recovering from a lung infection and other health issues.
Vatican News noted on Wednesday that the date was “particularly significant” for the English Royal Family, being Charles and Camilla’s 20th wedding anniversary and “the four-year anniversary of the death of the king’s father, Philip of Edinburgh.”
The meeting took place at the pope’s Casa Santa Marta residence at the Vatican.
Buckingham Palace announced in February that the two English royals would meet with Pope Francis during a trip to Rome. Last month, however, the monarchs postponed their visit to the Vatican at the advice of the pope’s doctors after his extended stay in the hospital.
Charles’s mother, Queen Elizabeth II, met a total of five popes over the course of her historic reign. Elizabeth died on Sept. 8, 2022, after which Charles ascended to the throne.
This article was originally published on Catholic News Agency.
