WESTMINSTER, U.K. (LifeSiteNews) — Pope Francis has given the Protestant King Charles III two relics of the True Cross on which Our Lord died, which will be blessed and then used by Anglican ministers as part of the King’s upcoming coronation ceremony next month.
Leading the procession for the much anticipated coronation of King Charles III on May 6 will be the Cross of Wales, which is now adorned with two relics from the true Cross of Christ thanks to a gift from Pope Francis to the English monarch.
The Anglican Church in Wales announced that “in a significant ecumenical gesture, the Cross of Wales will incorporate a relic of the True Cross, the personal gift of Pope Francis to His Majesty The King to mark the Coronation.”
The True Cross is that on which Jesus Christ was crucified and died in 33 A.D., and as such Catholics hold relics of it as some of the most venerable in the Church, to be afforded due reverence and veneration. These particular relics were reportedly given by Holy See representatives to members of the Royal Household at the Chapel Royal at St. James’s Palace last week.
Despite the fact that Charles III is leader of the Church of England, heavily promotes other creeds such as Judaism and Islam, and also promotes globalist policies on “climate change” and population control, Pope Francis has thus gifted the monarch some of the most treasured relics of the Catholic faith.
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The relics will now be seen by millions around the world, as they are embedded in the center of the Cross of Wales, which will be carried at the head of the procession into Westminster Abbey on May 6 for the Anglican coronation ceremony of Charles III. The ceremony will be led by the Anglican Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby.
The Cross of Wales is a processional cross gifted by King Charles to the Anglican Church in Wales, to mark the Welsh Anglican church’s centenary and the King’s coronation.
Made from recycled silver bullion, the cross head is inscribed with words of St. David — the patron saint of Wales. The English translation of the Welsh script is: “Be joyful. Keep the faith. Do the little things.”
The two relics of the True Cross measure 1cm and 5mm in size and are themselves formed in the shape of a cross. The Anglican Archbishop of Wales, Andrew John, performed a ceremony of blessing on the ceremonial cross on April 19.
Catholic Archbishop of Cardiff and Menevia Mark O’Toole welcomed the papal gift of the relics, saying that it was “not only a sign of the deep Christian roots of our nation but will, I am sure, encourage us all to model our lives on the love given by our Savior, Jesus Christ. We look forward to honoring it, not only in the various celebrations that are planned, but also in the dignified setting in which it will find a permanent home.”
Following the coronation, the Cross of Wales and its now incumbent relics of the True Cross will be shared by Welsh Anglicans and Catholics.
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Charles III as monarch is the supreme governor of the Church of England. During the coronation ceremony, he will recite the monarchical oath to be “Defender of the Faith” — a title granted by Pope Leo X to Henry VIII after the monarch defended the Catholic teaching on sacraments and marriage against Martin Luther, before Henry VIII was excommunicated.
Despite swiftly abandoning the Catholic Church, Henry VIII and his Protestant successors have enjoyed the continual use of the phrase, using it now to denote Christianity rather than the fullness of the Roman Catholic Church.
Charles III has been historically notorious for his promotion of other creeds even aside from Christianity. In 1994, he famously referred to the title and expressed a wish to be “‘Defender of Faith’… not the faith.” While still Prince of Wales, he later backtracked somewhat on the statement, wanting to be seen as “protector of faiths.”
Indeed, such is Charles III’s promotion of religions such as Islam and Judaism that much speculation was made about whether the title “Defender of the Faith” would be changed for his coronation. This will not happen, however, reportedly due chiefly to lack of time for the necessary legal changes to take place.
Charles III has also been noted by LifeSite for his promotion of globalist style policies, particularly those related to “climate change” issues. As noted by LifeSite’s Jeanne Smits, during the 2015 meeting with gave birth to the pro-abortion Paris Climate Change Agreement, Charles warned of supposed overpopulation.
READ: Paris climate summit kicks off with Prince Charles bemoaning our ‘crowded planet’
“On an increasingly crowded planet,” he said, “humanity faces many threats — but none is greater than climate change.”
His comments of overpopulation are consistent, and well documented. During a 2010 lecture for the Oxford Centre for Islamic Studies, Charles called for a view which balances “the traditional attitude to the sacred nature of life” with religious teachings that urge humans to “keep within the limits of Nature’s benevolence and bounty.”