King Charles III is aiming to have an audience with Pope Francis when he visits the Vatican next month. He continues to recover from dual pneumonia, suggesting that by then there will be optimism for the bishop to return to work.
Francis, 88, was admitted to Gemeri Hospital in Rome on February 14 after a week-long bronchitis match worsened. The doctor first diagnosed the development of complex viral, bacterial, and fungal respiratory infections, and subsequently pneumonia in both lungs.
The Vatican said it will no longer provide morning updates on Monday and is publishing more frequent medical bulletins as the Pope is gradually improving.
Buckingham Palace said he personally wrote to the Pope when Charles got sick.
Pope Francis was first seen since hospitalization: Photo
King Charles III will have an audience with Pope Francis when he visits the Vatican next month. (Mark Cuthbert)
Charles’ visit to the Vatican represents his efforts to establish close ties between the Catholic and the Church of England.
Since taking the throne in 2022 after the death of his mother, Queen Elizabeth II, Charles has made the building bridges of all faiths the prime focus.
Charles’ trip will begin on April 7th and the past three days. It also features events in Italy, including the Roman capital surrounding the Vatican city.
During a stop in Rome, Charles highlights the close ties between Britain and Italy as European countries work to strengthen their support for Ukrainian war with Russia.
He continues to treat and works from the bedside, so the Pope remains stable every month in the hospital
Pope Francis celebrates Mass on Sunday, March 16th, 2025, in a chapel at Gemeri Hospital in Rome, Italy. (See the Office of Holy Publications)
There is a Roman co-flypusto during Charles’ visit by the Italian Air Force aerobatic team, Fleque Tricolori, or Tricolor arrows, and their Royal Air Force counterpart, red arrows.
Charles and Queen Camilla attend a reception in Ravenna, the Emilia-Romagna region of Northern Italy, commemorating the 80th anniversary of the Allied liberation of the region from the Nazis. The pair also celebrates local cuisine and meets with farmers affected by the area’s recent floods.
“A visit to Italy will highlight the depth and breadth of bilateral relations,” Buckingham Palace said in a statement.
One of the central events during Charles’ trip to the Vatican is the historic first when the king visits St. Paul’s Pope Cathedral outside the wall. The event will be performed by the King’s Chapel Royal choir, St. George’s Chapel in Windsor Castle, and the Sistine Chapel.
Buckingham Palace said that Charles III wrote personally to the Pope when he fell ill. (Getty Images)
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The British king had a specific link to the cathedral before the division from Rome during the Protestant Reform. The cathedral was built on a white marble stone co, and has been believed to be the tomb of St. Paul for about two thousand years.
Charles’ visits occur during Pope Jubilee, a year of forgiveness and reconciliation celebrated by the Catholic Church every 25 years.
“The visit to the Holy See was a historic visit in the year of the Pope Jubilee and marks an important advance in the relationship between the Catholic and the Church of England,” Buckingham Palace said.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
