Pope Francis and Queen Elizabeth II: shared Christian heritage
April 4, 2014: A focus on the shared roots of Christian faith was a theme which emerged
from the meeting Pope Francis had with Britain’s Queen Elizabeth and her husband Prince
Philip on Thursday afternoon. Also attending the private encounter in a small study
beside the Paul VI hall was Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O’Connor, former archbishop of
Westminster and the first Catholic bishop to preach for the Royal Family since the
Church of England broke from Rome in the 16th century.
It was a far cry from
the first time Princess Elizabeth met with a Pope, Pius XII, in 1951, the year before
she became queen. On that occasion, and her meeting a few years later with Pope John
XXIII, she was dressed in full length black with a long veil. Even her more recent
meetings with Pope John Paul II and Pope Benedict XII have been quite formal affairs,
but on this occasion, Buckingham Palace had requested a relaxed, informal encounter
to follow on from her luncheon with Italian President Giorgio Napolitano. It seems
it was such a good lunch that the royal couple arrived almost a quarter of an hour
late in the Vatican and as she shook hands with the Pope Francis, the Queen apologized
for keeping him waiting. Together with the Duke of Edinburgh, and accompanied by the
Cardinal and papal translator, the two leaders spent almost 20 minutes in private
conversation before posing for photographs and exchanging some rather unusual gifts.
The
Queen had brought a large hamper stuffed with goodies from her royal estates: honey
from the gardens of Buckingham Palace, venison, beef and some best bitter from Windsor
Castle, cider, apple juice and a selection of chutneys from Sandringham and some shortbread
and whiskey from the Balmoral estate in Scotland. She also gave the Pope a couple
of signed photographs in silver frames, saying with a wry smile, “I’m afraid you have
to have a photograph – it’s inevitable!”
Pope Francis also had a rather personal
gift for the Queen – or rather for her newest great-grandson and third in line for
the throne, the eight-month-old Prince George. It was a blue, lapis lazuli orb, topped
with a cross of St Edward the Confessor and around the base a dedication reading ‘Pope
Francis to His Royal Highness Prince George of Cambridge’. The Queen seemed visibly
delighted, exclaiming, “that’s very nice, he’ll be thrilled with that…when he’s a
little older.” The Pope also presented the Queen with a replica of a decree from the
Vatican archives, dating from 1679, by which Pope Innocent XI extended the veneration
of St Edward the Confessor to the Universal Church, establishing his feast day on
October 9th.
Those who followed Pope Benedict’s state visit to Britain in
2010 will recall one of the most moving moments of his three day trip was in Westminster
Abbey where he and the then Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams knelt side by
side in prayer at the Shrine of Edward the Confessor, who died in 1066. Together the
Anglican and Catholic leaders prayed for Church and country but also for the gift
of reconciliation and unity.
We weren’t told exactly what the Bishop of Rome
and the Governor of the Church of England talked about during this brief visit to
the Vatican, but I’m fairly sure their talks will have touched on the shared spiritual
heritage and a mutual commitment to renewed Christian unity.