Royal couple postpone Vatican visit due to advice of Pope’s doctors

King Charles III and Queen Camilla have postponed their scheduled April visit to the Vatican during a forthcoming state visit to Italy. It would have been the first time that Charles has met the Pope as King, having previously had an audience with the Holy Father when he was the Prince of Wales in 2017.

The change in plan follows the advice of Pope Francis’s doctors based on his ongoing recovery, which has even been labeled “miraculous” following the severity of his recent illness and five-week-long stay in hospital. Pope Francis is now observing a two-month period of rest and has been advised to avoid meetings with crowds and with children, due to the risk of exposure to new infections. 

A statement released by Buckingham Palace on social media platform X said:

“The King and Queen’s State Visit to The Holy See has been postponed by mutual agreement, as medical advice has now suggested that Pope Francis would benefit from an extended period of rest and recuperation.

“Their Majesties send The Pope their best wishes for his convalescence and look forward to visiting him in The Holy See, once he has recovered.”

The UK royals were set to visit the Vatican as part of a state visit to Italy from 7–10 April, with the Vatican visit also being focused on the Catholic Church’s 2025 Jubilee Year, according to a program released by Buckingham Palace on 18 March. Their audience with Pope Francis would have been on April 8. 

The King and Queen were due to attend an ecumenical service on the theme of “Care for Creation” in the Sistine Chapel, according to the statement from Buckingham Palace.

The King was also due to visit the Papal Basilica of St. Paul Outside the Walls, which, the palace noted, had a particular link to English kings before the Reformation.

Members of the Choir of His Majesty’s Chapel Royal and the Choir of St. George’s Chapel, Windsor, had been scheduled to perform at the basilica and during the service in the Sistine Chapel.

Despite the cancelation of the Vatican visit, the royal couple will still go ahead with the other components of their April state visit to Italy.

During the trip, the King will become the first British monarch to address a joint session of the Italian Parliament on April 9.

RELATED: Dates and details of King Charles’s Vatican visit announced

Photo: Pope Francis meets with then Prince Charles and Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, in the Vatican, Vatican City, 4 April 2017. (Photo by Tim Rooke – Pool / Getty Images.)

The post Royal couple postpone Vatican visit due to advice of Pope’s doctors first appeared on Catholic Herald.

The post Royal couple postpone Vatican visit due to advice of Pope’s doctors appeared first on Catholic Herald.