US President Donald Trump said Wednesday that he wants to see Pope Leo XIV "get well" after the pontiff underwent surgery in Rome this week to remove a cancerous tumour.

"I want to see Pope Leo get well," Trump told reporters after addressing a campaign rally in Arizona. "It's big stuff. Anytime you have cancer, but the prognosis seems to be good."

"I just want to wish him well. Get better fast," the president added.

Pope Leo's doctors on Wednesday said he was out of bed, walking and eating after the removal of a cancerous tumour from his lung.

Now the 71-year-old awaits the results of a biopsy to determine if the cancer has spread.

Prayers for the recovery of the Catholic leader of 1.4 billion faithful have been sent from around the world, from the northern Peru city of Chiclayo where he was bishop for eight years, to his US hometown of Chicago and beyond.

Other global leaders also offered best wishes, including Britain's King Charles III, who is being treated for an undisclosed cancer and last year became his country's first monarch to pray publicly with the pontiff since the Church of England broke with the Vatican 500 years ago.

Earlier this year, the pope said he has "great love" for the United States, but his stances urging tolerance and protection for migrants, have often put the Vatican at odds with the Trump administration's crackdown on immigration and use of detention camps. (AFP)



Edited by Cecil Wong