Bishop Robert published a blog today, which is shared below:

'We are told all too frequently that some event is ‘historic’ or ‘the first time since the Reformation’. But the State visit by the King and Queen to Pope Leo XIV was true in both these respects. It is the first time that a British monarch has shared publicly in a service of prayer with a Pope. And it embodied and carried forward our ecumenical friendship with the Roman Catholic Church in a remarkable way.  

I was privileged to be seated very near the front of the morning service jointly presided over by Pope Leo and the Archbishop of York in the Sistine Chapel. This Chapel is one of the artistic treasurers of Western civilisation, and whilst used for conclaves to choose new popes it isn’t used often for services of worship. It would be hard to imagine a more magnificent setting. Music was provided by cantors from the Sistine Chapel, and singers from St. George’s Windsor and St. James’s Palace. The service was themed on ‘care for creation’. The Foreign Secretary, Yvette Cooper, who happened to be seated directly in front of me, read from Romans 8. She was said to be quite nervous – even for an experienced politician reading from the King James Bible in the Sistine Chapel could be intimidating. The closing prayers were said jointly by the Pope and the Archbishop.  

After this service concluded, we were taken by minibus to St. Paul’s Outside the Walls, for a much bigger ecumenical service presided over by the Abbot. Opening remarks were made by Cardinal Harvey, who spoke about the importance of the Basilica for relationship with the English (Anglo-Saxon kings had traditionally been ‘protectors’ of the building), noting it was the place where Pope Paul VI had presented Archbishop Michael Ramsey with his episcopal ring in 1966. Cardinal Harvey introduced the central symbolic action of the service. King Charles was granted the title ‘Royal Confrater of the Papal Basilica’ and he was formally installed in a throne. On the throne were inscribed the royal coat of arms along with the key ecumenical text from St. John: ‘ut unum sint – that they may be one’.  It was explained that this action was taken in thanksgiving for the steps which have been taken since the Second Vatican Council in the common ecumenical journey of the Church of England and the Church of Rome.    

Following the service the assembly gathered for a garden party at the Beda College across the road from the Basilica. The King was invited to unveil a plaque, was presented with a bronze sculpture of St. Bede and was invited to water a young Seville orange tree. He chatted to many of us over a cup of tea. I persuaded our new national ecumenical officer, Matthias Grebe – who is from our diocese originally, to introduce himself. He did so and explained his ecumenical role. The King replied ‘Well I hope I may have helped a bit’.  

I believe this visit has been tremendously important in several ways. Firstly, it has publicised to a wide audience the warm and friendly relationships that exist between our two churches. Secondly, it provides a platform for further ecumenical contact and action at all levels. Thirdly, it enacted our friendship and love for each other, helping to overcome divisions that have separated us for 500 years. I was thrilled to be a part of these extraordinary events. May God continue to bless, guide and lead our efforts to build unity and togetherness in a divided and increasingly polarised world.'
 
+Robert Gibraltar in Europe