US President Donald Trump has wished Pope Leo XIV a quick recovery after surgeons in Rome removed a cancerous tumour from the pontiff’s right lung.
“I want to see Pope Leo get well,” Trump told reporters in Arizona on October 14, a day after the Vatican confirmed the diagnosis. He said the prognosis appeared to be good, though he described cancer as a serious matter in any circumstance.
The president also claimed a personal connection to the papal family, calling the Pope’s older brother, Louis Prevost, a friend and a fine man. He said Prevost and his wife were enthusiastic supporters of his own movement and kept campaign memorabilia throughout their home.
Prevost, a 74-year-old US Navy veteran who lives in Florida, is himself in hospital receiving treatment for cancer. He told Italian daily Corriere della Sera that he was confident his brother would recover in full and return to leading the Catholic Church.
The Holy See said on October 14 that the Pope was progressing as expected after an operation that confirmed a diagnosis of lung adenocarcinoma, the most common form of lung cancer. He was out of bed, walking and eating normally, and blood tests and a chest X-ray returned results consistent with the procedure.
Surgeons at the Agostino Gemelli University Hospital removed the lower lobe of the Pope’s right lung on October 13, using a video-assisted technique in an operation that lasted about 90 minutes. The medical team said there had been no complications.
Holy See Press Office director Matteo Bruni said the 71-year-old was expected to remain in hospital for roughly a week. Audiences have been cancelled until October 20.
Trump’s message marks a softer register towards a pope with whom he has clashed more than once. In April his attack on Leo XIV over the Middle East drew a rebuke from Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, who called the president’s words unacceptable.
Relations have also been strained by migration, where the first American pope has urged protection for migrants while defending the right of sovereign states to control their borders. That dual position has given him a growing audience in European political debate.
A papal journey to Uruguay, Argentina and Peru scheduled for November 6-17 remains in doubt. The Vatican has not said whether the trip will go ahead.
