King Charles and Queen Camilla to make state visit to Italy, meet Pope Francis
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King Charles and Queen Camilla will travel to Italy and the Vatican in April to meet with Pope Francis, as the Catholic Church celebrates a special Jubilee year, which takes place every quarter of a century.
The British monarch will join the expected 32 million people set to make the pilgrimage to the “Eternal City” this year. The Catholic Jubilee Year – or Holy Year – was established in the 14th century by Pope Boniface VIII and is 12 months focused on forgiveness and reconciliation.
The major spring tour, which has long been trailed in the media, will take place in early April and coincides with Charles and Camilla’s 20th wedding anniversary.
They will meet Pope Francis at the Vatican and celebrate the Catholic Church’s Pilgrims of Hope jubilee year.
In Italy, the couple will visit Rome and the north-eastern city of Ravenna, known for its early Christian mosaic artwork.
Charles, 76, is forging ahead with regular overseas trips this year as he adapts to living with cancer.
The King and Queen last met the pop at the Vatican on April 4, 2017.
The development emerged at the end of the King’s long-haul visit to Australia and Samoa, which was described as the “perfect tonic” for the monarch.
The tour announcement comes the week after Charles travelled to Poland for the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz.
Charles travelled to the historic death camp last week to mark the 80th anniversary of its liberation on Holocaust Memorial Day.
He was seen to join survivors and other dignitaries invited to a service at the site of the former concentration camp in Poland.
As part of the forthcoming visit to the Vatican, the couple will attend the Holy See, the government of the Roman Catholic Church.
The Vatican, home to the Pope, is the smallest independent state in the world, which is surrounded by Rome and is the residence of the spiritual leadership of the Roman Catholic Church.
