British Catholics welcomed the presence of King Charles III and top royals at the Sept. 16 funeral Mass for the Duchess of Kent, a Catholic convert, the first such ceremony in the once-persecuted church's main cathedral. "This first Catholic funeral for a senior royal -- someone who accompanied pilgrims to the Marian sanctuary of Lourdes and was involved in many charitable and pastoral activities – is highly significant." Her funeral Mass, led by Cardinal Vincent Nichols, chairman of the bishops' conference of England and Wales, included typically Catholic prayers, read by her grandchildren, for the pope and deceased friends and relatives. Two previous kings, James I and Charles I, had foreign-born Catholic consorts, while King Charles II (1630-1685) became a Catholic on his deathbed. Britain's Catholic weekly, The Tablet, said the king's first formal attendance at a Catholic Mass in Britain marked "one of the most significant moments in recent Catholic history."