Britain’s King Charles III and Queen Camilla prayed on Thursday with Pope Leo XIV in a historic visit to forge closer relations between the Church of England and the Catholic Church, a welcome spiritual respite for the royals from the turmoil at home over the Epstein sex scandal.

Charles, who is the titular head of the Church of England, and Camilla sat in golden thrones on the raised altar of the Sistine Chapel, in front of Michelangelo’s “Last Judgment,” while Leo and the Anglican archbishop of York presided over an ecumenical service. The event marked the first time since the Reformation that the heads of the two Christian churches, divided for centuries over various issues, have prayed together.