Extraordinary Exhibition of Two Raphael Tapestries in the Sistine Chapel

From October 23 to November 4, 2025 the Vatican Museums will offer visitors the unique opportunity to admire, within the Sistine Chapel, two magnificent tapestries by Raphael. They are displayed in honor of King Charles III and Queen Camilla’s visit to the Vatican, especially for their united ecumenical prayer for the care of Creation, presided over by Pope Leo XIV.

The two monumental tapestries, part of the Acts of the Apostles series, were commissioned by Pope Leo X and created from preparatory designs (cartoons) by Raphael Sanzio, know as the master from Urbino.

These works were woven by the renowned Flemish craftsman Pieter Van Aelst, using precious threads of silk, gold and silver. Their creation represents an extraordinary fusion of faith, Raphael’s artistic genius and Van Aelst’s technical mastery. Completed in 1515, Raphael’s cartoons were sent to Flanders for the weaving of the tapestries, which arrived in Rome by 1519 and were first displayed in the Sistine Chapel on December 26 of that year, during the feast of St. Stephen. At their inauguration, the tapestries aroused great admiration. The final three arrived by 1521, shortly before the death of Pope Leo X.

Therefore this Jubilee Year, beginning Thursday, October 23, the two tapestries — The Martyrdom of Saint Stephen and The Miraculous Draught of Fishes — are once again displayed in the Sistine Chapel, the setting for which they were originally intended. Their exhibition not only celebrates Renaissance art, but also serves as a tribute to King Charles III, who owns seven of Raphael’s original cartoons, kept at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London.

This event therefore stands as both an homage to Raphael’s genius and a sign of the bond between the Church and the United Kingdom, reaffirming the Sistine Chapel as a timeless symbol of faith and art.