Ut Unum Sint - A Prayer for Unity with Benedictines

Abbot Brendan Thomas • October 28, 2025

Br Meinrad and Br Gildas attend a special service with the Benedictine community of St Paul's Outside the Walls with King Charles and Queen Camilla.

Br Meinrad writes:

On Thursday we were invited by the British Embassy to the Holy See to attend an ecumenical service at the Papal Basilica of St Paul’s Outside the Walls, during which King Charles III was inducted as a Confrater of the Basilica. We attended together with Brother Joseph Benedict of Ampleforth and a number of other monks from Sant’ Anselmo, where we are currently living for our theological studies.


The ceremony was deeply moving and recalled the long and historic relationship between the monarchy, the English Catholic Church, and the Basilica — a link that stretches back to the Saxon kings of England. For many centuries the kings of England were regarded as protectors of St Paul’s, a connection still commemorated today in the abbey’s coat of arms, which bears the blue Garter ribbon surrounding its shield.


The King and Queen entered the basilica through the Holy Door, as countless pilgrims have done before them, and were accompanied down the central aisle by Cardinal James Harvey, Abbot Donato Ogliari OSB, Archbishop Stephen Cottrell of York, and the Moderator of the Free Churches while the congregation sang Hosanna to the Son of David. After pausing in prayer at the tomb of St Paul, Their Majesties joined the congregation for the service.


To be able to study in Rome, at the heart of the Church, is a great blessing; and to witness this ceremony — so steeped in prayer and goodwill — was a profound reminder of our shared Christian hope and of the journey towards unity that continues to draw us together.


The King’s chair, made specially for the occasion, bore the royal coat of arms and the Gospel words from John 17:21 — Ut unum sint — “That they may be one.” It was a fitting symbol for a service in which that very prayer — for unity, peace, and reconciliation — rose from every heart.


  • King Charles prays with the community of St Paul's

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    Cardinal Vincent Nichols in conversation with Br Meinrad

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  • King Charles visits the Tomb of St Paul

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Images courtesy of the Catholic Church of England and Wales: https://www.flickr.com/photos/catholicism/albums/

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