The King and Queen are to hold a first audience with Pope Leo XIV during a state visit to Vatican City in late October to mark the 2025 jubilee year, Buckingham Palace said. Leo XIV was elected earlier this year following the death of Pope Francis. The couple’s planned Vatican trip in early April was cancelled because of the pope’s health, but they later met the pontiff privately in Italy on 9 April to mark their 20th wedding anniversary. In a message after Pope Francis’s death on 21 April, the King said he and Camilla were “most deeply saddened”.

In May, Buckingham Palace said the King sent a private message to Pope Leo XIV congratulating him on his election. Leo XIV was elected on 8 May after a conclave of 133 cardinals from 70 countries. In his first foreign policy address, he outlined the Holy See’s three pillars of diplomacy as peace, justice and truth. In his first Sunday blessing, he called for a just and lasting peace in Ukraine and an immediate ceasefire in Gaza. He has identified artificial intelligence as one of the most critical issues facing humanity, saying it poses challenges to defending human dignity, justice and labour. He is a dual citizen of the United States and Peru. A papal jubilee is traditionally marked every 25 years.

The visit is also seen as a celebration of ecumenical work between the Church of England and the Catholic Church, reflecting the Jubilee year’s theme of walking together as “Pilgrims of Hope”. The King is the Supreme Governor of the Church of England. The role dates back to the 16th century, when Henry VIII broke from the Catholic Church and established the modern structure of the Church of England.