Pope Leo XIV is set to meet King Charles III and Queen Camilla during their state visit to Vatican City next month.
Pope Leo, named Robert Prevost, from the United States became the spiritual leader of Catholics worldwide on Thursday, May 8, 2025 following Pope Francis' death.
During the visit, the King and Queen will meet Pope Leo under the theme "Pilgrims of Hope."
However, the exact plans for the visit haven't been shared yet but it will take place during the Catholic Church's special "jubilee" year, celebrated every 25 years.
An earlier planned visit to the Vatican was delayed due to Pope Francis' poor health but the King and Queen had a brief private meeting with him during their state visit to Italy just 12 days before he died.
The Vatican has revealed that Pope Francis passed away because of a stroke in the brain which caused him to fall into a coma and led to heart failure.
The King and Queen met Pope Francis at the Vatican's Casa Santa Marta for at least 20 minutes.
At that time, the Buckingham Palace said they were “deeply touched” by the Pope’s kind comments celebrating their 20th wedding anniversary.
In an official message released following the news of Francis's death on 21 April, the King said he and the Queen were "most deeply saddened".
The rescheduled visit will show the strong and friendly ties between the Catholic Church and the Church of England, which the King leads.
