VATICAN - British Royals Pray with Pope Leo

Britain’s King Charles III and Queen Camilla prayed with Pope Leo XIV in a historic visit to forge closer relations between the Church of England and the Catholic Church.

Charles, who is the titular head of the Church of England, and Camilla sat in golden thrones on the raised altar of the Sistine Chapel, in front of Michelangelo’s “Last Judgment,” while Leo and the Anglican archbishop of York presided over an ecumenical service.

The event marked the first time since the Reformation that the heads of the two Christian churches, divided for centuries over issues that now include divorce, the ordination of female priests and the treatment of LGBTQ+ faithful, have prayed together.

Anglicans split from the Catholic Church in 1534 when English King Henry VIII was refused a marriage annulment.

While popes for decades have forged warm relations with the Church of England and the broader Anglican Communion on a path toward greater unity, the two churches remain divided over issues such as the ordination of female priests, which the Catholic Church prohibits.

-www.nbcnews.com, 23 October 2025

Commentary: It’s hard to believe that this is “the first time since the Reformation that the heads of the two Christian churches… have prayed together.” Yet the “ecumenical service” marks the spirit of the times, as issues such as “the treatment of LGBTQ+ faithful” are glossed over in the name of religious unity.

The fact that King Charles and Camilla “sat in golden thrones on the raised altar” reminds one of Ezekiel 28:2, which says: “Son of man, say unto the prince of Tyrus, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Because thine heart is lifted up, and thou hast said, I am a God, I sit in the seat of God, in the midst of the seas; yet thou art a man, and not God, though thou set thine heart as the heart of God.”

And in the New Testament, we read that the Antichrist “…opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God” (2 Thessalonians 2:4).