According to the palace, the King and Queen will join Pope Leo in celebrating the Catholic Church’s Jubilee Year — a tradition that takes place every 25 years and emphasizes forgiveness, reconciliation, and hope. The 2025 Jubilee carries the theme of “Pilgrims of Hope,” a message both the Church of England and the Catholic Church have embraced in their ongoing ecumenical efforts.

This won’t be King Charles’ first time in Vatican City. As Prince of Wales, he made five visits to the Holy See, including attending the 2019 canonization of Saint John Henry Newman, a theologian who famously converted from Anglicanism to Catholicism. Charles has long been vocal about his admiration for Newman and Pope Francis’ environmental initiatives.

The royal couple did manage a private audience with Pope Francis earlier this year, on April 9 — which coincided with their 20th wedding anniversary. Despite his frail health, Francis insisted on personally wishing them well, just two weeks before his death from a stroke and heart failure.

Charles, now 76, serves as Supreme Governor of the Church of England, a position dating back to Henry VIII’s break with Rome nearly five centuries ago. Today, the relationship between the monarchy and the Vatican is one of mutual respect, with full diplomatic ties established in 1982.

Pope Leo XIV, born Robert Prevost in Chicago and holding dual Peruvian citizenship, brings a unique international perspective to the papacy. Before becoming pope, he served as prefect of the Dicastery for Bishops, one of the Vatican’s most influential offices. In his first address as pontiff, he called for global peace and unity — a theme that resonates with King Charles’ own advocacy for interfaith dialogue and reconciliation.

This October’s visit will be both historic and symbolic: a meeting of two leaders, one spiritual and one constitutional, united in a shared message of hope for the future.