Happy 94th birthday, Queen
Elizabeth
Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip (ANSA) |
To mark the celebrations of Queen Elizabeth’s 94th birthday,
we look back at some of her meetings with Popes across the years – both as a
princess, and as the Queen of Great Britain.
By Francesca Merlo
As the longest reigning British monarch in history, Queen
Elizabeth has met 4 Popes as Queen, 5 in her lifetime. Though the Queen was
born on 21 April, her birthday is celebrated on the second Saturday in June,
which this year falls on the 13th. This year, we celebrate Queen
Elizabeth’s 94th birthday, her 67th since being
crowned Queen.
Born in 1926, Elizabeth Alexandra Mary ascended to the
throne in 1953 at the age of 25 after the death of her father King George VI.
Queen Elizabeth first visited the Vatican in 1951 as Princess Elizabeth. The
Pope at the time was Pius XII.
First visit, as Queen
of Great Britain
Queen Elizabeth's second visit to the Vatican took place on
5 May 1961, when she, now Queen, and HRH Prince Philip were received in
audience by Pope John XXIII. During the meeting, Pope John XXIII expressed his
appreciation for "the great and noble British nation with its wealth of
courage, its spirit of initiative, and its tenacity" which fights to
realise "the great Christian ideal of peace, charity, and
brotherhood."
Queen Elizabeth meets Pope John XXIII in the Vatican
Monsignor Charles Burns, OBE is Ecclesiastical advisor to
the British Embassy to the Holy See. He was present at the historic meeting.
Here is his memoir:
"In May 1961, Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II paid an
official State visit to Italy, her first as monarch. Undoubtedly her visit
marked the apex of my four years as post-graduate student at the Pontifical
Scots College in Rome, something altogether exceptional, memorable,
unforgettable. My thesis was at final stage, with readers at the Pontifical
Gregorian University, so there was greater freedom to be an eyewitness at
several events.
The highlight of the State visit for us was the audience
with His Holiness Pope John XXIII on 5th May, in the forenoon. The
Superiors and the entire community of the Scots College were admitted to
the Sala Clementina in the Vatican, as were the Superiors and
components of the Venerable English and the Pontifical Beda Colleges, to give a
standing ovation and acclaim the Royal Couple, after they had been received by
the Pope.
The strains of the National Anthem played by the band of
the Pontifical Swiss Guards and the voices of the laypeople as they broke into
‘God Save The Queen’ were wafted up to the windows of the Prima Loggia and
increased our emotion. It was all very exciting.
Thunderous applause greeted the Royal Couple when they
entered the Sala Clementina, escorted by the papal gentlemen-in-waiting in
their baroque uniforms. An historic occasion. The moment was immortalised by a
photographer for future generations".
HM the Queen visits
John Paul II
Queen Elizabeth made history in 1980 when she became the
first British monarch to make a state visit to the Vatican. It was during this
meeting with Pope John Paul II, that the Queen and head of the Church of
England, publicly welcomed the Pope’s plans to visit Great Britain in 1982 –
stressing that his visit would be a pastoral one and not a state one.
HM Queen Elizabeth II: “We support the growing unity
between the Christian Churches throughout the world and we pray that your
Holiness’s visit to Britain may enable us all to see more clearly those truths
which both unite and divide us in a new and constructive light.”
Queen Elizabeth meets Pope John Paul II in the Vatican, 1980
John Paul II visits
HM the Queen
Then, just two years later, as planned, Pope John Paul II
made his pastoral visit to Great Britain. 1982 was an historic year for a Papal
visit to Great Britain as Britain was at war with Argentina, who had just
invaded the British possession of the Falkland Islands. In one of his addresses,
the Holy Father went off script calling for peace in the Falklands. He
appealed to Britain and Argentina ''to put aside the weapons of death'' in the
Falkland Islands.
“My visit is taking place at a time of tension and
anxiety, a time when the attention of the world has been focused on the
delicate situation of the conflict in the South Atlantic. …..This
tragic situation has been one of most serious concern to me, and I have
repeatedly asked Catholics throughout the world and all people of good will to
join me in praying for a just and peaceful settlement.”
Queen Elizabeth and Pope John Paul II, Great Britain, 1982
Then, 18 years later, in the millennia, HM the Queen visited
the Vatican once again, in October. There she met with Pope John Paul II for a
third time. They exchanged their speeches in envelopes.
Queen Elizabeth meets Pope John Paul II in the Vatican, 2000
Pope Benedict XVI in
Great Britain
In September 2010, Pope Benedict XVI visited Great Britain
on an Apostolic Journey on the occasion of the beatification of Cardinal John
Henry Newman, now a Saint. In Edinburgh, Scotland he met Queen Elizabeth II and
expressed his gratitude to her for "holding out a hand of friendship"
to him.
Queen Elizabeth meets Pope Benedict XVI in Edinburgh in 2010
Pope Francis
Finally, in April 2014, Queen Elizabeth made a state visit
to Italy, and after meeting President Napolitano, went to the Vatican where she
was greeted by Pope Francis. This historic meeting marked the Queen's seventh
encounter with a pontiff and the fifth different Pope she has met. Her visit
also coincided with the 32nd anniversary of the start of the Falklands War, the
Islands known in Argentina as Las Malvinas, which are controlled by the UK
but claimed by the Pope's native Argentina.
Queen Elizabeth meets Pope Francis in the Vatican, 2014
As Queen Elizabeth, and the world celebrate her birthday
this year - in particular circumstances given the coronavisu pandemic - we
remember her long reign and her numerous encounters with Popes throughout
history.. wishing her a very happy birthday.
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