Conservation & Heritage Issue 50 Winter 2025/Spring 2026 - Flipbook - Page 62
The Sistine Chapel takes its name from Pope Sixtus IV,
who had the old Cappella Magna restored between 1477
and 1480. The Chapel’s walls were decorated in the 15th
century and feature stories of Moses and Christ and portraits
of Popes. It is also the site of the Papal Conclave, for the
election of the Supreme Pontiff (the Pope), which took place
in May this year.
During the service, The King’s Chapel Royal and St. George’s
Chapel (Windsor) choirs performed Thomas Tallis’, If ye love
me. The Choir of the Sistine Chapel and Lay Clerks from
Windsor also sung two Psalms together.
The service included an introduction by Pope Leo and the
Archbishop of York and a reading from the Letter to the
Romans by the Foreign Secretary, Yvette Cooper.
His Majesty also held a meeting with Cardinal Pietro
Parolin, the Holy See’s Cardinal Secretary of State. The
Cardinal attended Their Majesties’ Coronation in May
2023, becoming the first papal representative to attend the
Coronation of a British monarch at Westminster Abbey for
nearly 500 years.
Following this, in the Sala Regia, The King and Pope Leo
met groups of people, including representatives from climate
organisations and private sector leaders who have been
working with the Sustainable Markets Initiative, which His
Majesty founded as Prince of Wales, in support of efforts to
support sustainability and Nature.
Meanwhile, The Queen visited the Pauline Chapel and
learnt more about the Chapel’s history and the role it plays.
Afterwards, The King and Queen privately viewed two
Raphael Tapestries in the Sistine Chapel, which have been
re-hung in their original positions, in honour of Their
Majesties’ visit.
On departing the Holy See, The King and Queen visited the
Papal Basilica and Abbey of St. Paul’s Outside the Walls to
attend an ecumenical service in recognition of His Majesty
becoming ‘Royal Confrater’ of the Abbey of St Paul’s.
St Paul’s Outside the Walls’ is recognised as the Papal Basilica
where reconciliation, ecumenism and relationships across
the Christian faith are celebrated. The English Crown had
a particular link with the Papal Basilica of St. Paul’s Outside
the Walls until the Reformation.
Their Majesties walked through the Basilica’s Holy Doors,
which are opened every twenty-five years, during a Jubilee
Year. These are symbolic and act as a point of pilgrimage
for those arriving at one of the four Holy Doors at the Papal
Basilicas in Rome.
The King sat in a specially created seat, displaying His
Majesty’s Coat of Arms – a gift given in honour of His
Majesty becoming Royal Confrater of the Abbey of St. Paul.
This gift of ‘confraternity’, offered by the Archpriest of
the Basilica and approved by the Pope, is a recognition of
spiritual fellowship. Together with the creation of a new seat
for His Majesty, which will remain in the Basilica, it is a mark
of friendship which reflects the mutual respect between Pope
Leo and His Majesty as Heads of State.
Their Majesties, accompanied by Pope Leo, then attended a
special ecumenical service in the Sistine Chapel, marking the
joining of hands between the Catholic Church and Church
of England in a celebration of ecumenism.
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Departing St Paul’s Outside the Walls, The King and Queen
were delighted to meet school children and members of the
public.
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