King Charles receives Royal Confrater title as sign of 'hope' with Anglican Communion

The British monarch is accorded the title "Royal Confrater" at the Basilica of Saint Paul Outside the Walls, taking a seat on a stall bearing the Gospel inscription, &ldquoThat they may be one&rdquo. This wish is echoed by Cardinal Harvey, who, together with Abbot Ogliari, accompanies the Royals through the Holy Door before the ecumenical celebration.

King Charles receives the Royal Confrater title

Ut unum sint &ndash &ldquoThat they may they one.&rdquo A horizon of &ldquohope&rdquo for the future characterized the atmosphere in the Papal Basilica of Saint Paul Outside the Walls, during the ceremony conferring the title of Royal Confrater on King Charles III of England took place at the Basilica of Saint Paul Outside the Walls, during his state visit to the Vatican alongside Queen Camilla. The ecumenical celebration was presided over by Abbot Donato Ogliari, in the presence of Cardinal Archpriest of the Papal Basilica James Michael Harvey the Archbishop of York and Primate of England, Stephen Cottrell and the Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland, Rosie Frew.

The ecumenical celebration

The Royals entered the basilica through the Holy Door, then were accompanied down the aisle by Cardinal Harvey, Abbot Ogliari, Archbishop Cottrell, and Moderator Frew while the congregation sang Hosanna to the Son of David in the version of Orlando Gibbons, Gentleman of the Chapel Royal from 1605 to 1625. The music was performed by the Schola of the Abbey of Saint Paul Outside the Walls, the lay clerks of St. George&rsquos Chapel at Windsor Castle, and the children of St. James&rsquos Royal Chapel in London at the organ was Christian Almada, Titular Organist of the Papal Basilica.

After a brief stop in front of the altar, Cardinal Harvey and Abbot Ogliari led the monarchs in a moment of prayer at the tomb of the Apostle Paul. Here, Archbishop Cottrell prayed that the congregation may bear witness to the Gospel &ldquoin the darkness of our time.&rdquo King Charles and Queen Camilla then took their seats as the choir sang Sing Joyfully by William Byrd, also a Gentleman of the Chapel Royal in the late 16th and early 17th centuries.

The ties between the Basilica and England

After the introductory rites, Cardinal Harvey took the floor, recalling the strong historical ties that unite the Papal Basilica with the kingdom of England. This dialogue reached a decisive stage in the 1966 meeting between Paul VI and the Archbishop of Canterbury Michael Ramsey, which led to official dialogue between the two communions &ldquofor the first time since the Reformation.&rdquo On that occasion, the Pontiff memorably placed his episcopal ring on the archbishop's finger.

The honorary title of Royal Confrater of the basilica and abbey&mdashoffered with the approval of Pope Leo XIV&mdashis therefore a sign of &ldquohope&rdquo, explained the cardinal, and a gesture of welcome not only to a sovereign but to a &ldquobrother.&rdquo

Speaking to the Primates of the Anglican Communion, Pope Francis says that even the very earliest Christians had their disagreements.

&ldquoThat they may be one&rdquo

King Charles sat on a throne created for the occasion, bearing the royal coat of arms and the Latin inscription from the Gospel of John, Ut unum sint &ndash &ldquoThat they may they one.&rdquo The throne will remain in the apse of the Basilica and will be used in the future by the king himself and his heirs and successors.

A prayer for Creation

After Abbot Ogliari read the formal declaration of confraternity &mdash invoking the &ldquocommon ecumenical journey&rdquo and &ldquofraternal task&rdquo &mdash the Benedictine and the Cardinal exchanged the sign of peace with King Charles. This was followed by the singing of Excelsam Pauli gloriam by St. Peter Damian. Moderator Rosie Frew proclaimed the First Reading from the Letter to the Ephesians after which the Schola intoned the chant Ecce quam bonum, which quotes Psalm 133 and expresses the main theme of the service: &ldquoBehold, how good and joyful a thing it is brethren, to dwell together in unity!&rdquo Archbishop Cottrell then read a passage from the Gospel of John (chapter 17), containing the phrase inscribed on the English sovereign&rsquos stall. The hymn In God&rsquos word will I rejoice, composed by Henry Purcell, another Gentleman of the Chapel Royal, was then sung.

The Prayer of the Faithful, read by Cardinal Vincent Nichols, archbishop of Westminster, included prayers for the pastors of the Church of God &ldquothroughout the world,&rdquo especially Pope Leo XIV and &ldquothe rulers of nations,&rdquo particularly King Charles. In keeping with the theme of the royal visit, the Cardinal also prayed for Creation, so that its &ldquocry&rdquo may be heard and protected for the benefit of future generations.

A visit to the monastery

Before the final prayer, the motet Exultate Deo, by Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina, was performed, in honour of the 500th anniversary of the composer&rsquos birth this year. The celebration concluded with the hymn Praise to the Holiest in the Height, the text of which is taken from Saint John Henry Newman&rsquos poem, The Dream of Gerontius. The British cardinal will be proclaimed a Doctor of the Church on November 1. At the end of the service, Almada played the first movement of Edward Elgar&rsquos Organ Sonata in G major. Elgar, a Catholic, served as Master of the King&rsquos Music from 1924 to 1934. Afterward, the Royals paid a brief private visit to the monumental library of the abbey attached to the basilica.

Lorena Leonardi and Edoardo Giribaldi
Source: vaticannews.va/en