Britain’s King Charles III has expressed his intention to jot down privately to Pope Leo XIV to convey his finest needs following the pontiff’s lung most cancers analysis, because the pope’s older brother battles a recurrence of blood most cancers.
A royal supply confirmed on Wednesday that Charles, who’s head of the Church of England, would write to the pope following surgical procedure to take away a part of his proper lung.
The 71-year-old pontiff is recovering from Tuesday’s operation, which led docs to diagnose him with lung adenocarcinoma, a sort of lung most cancers. The Vatican has not disclosed the stage of the illness or whether or not it has unfold.
The improvement got here because the pope’s older brother, Louis Prevost, can be present process therapy for a number of myeloma, a blood most cancers that impacts plasma cells within the bone marrow.
Louis’ spouse, Deborah Prevost, advised CBS News that her husband was first recognized with the illness in 2017 and remained in remission for years following a stem cell transplant and therapy by a medical trial.
However, the most cancers returned about three months in the past, prompting him to enrol in one other medical trial at a neighborhood hospital. She didn’t disclose the stage of his most cancers.
“We keep praying, keeping spirits up for both of them,” Deborah stated, referring to her husband and the pope.
She added that her husband and the pontiff spoke final week earlier than Louis started his newest clinical-trial therapy.
Deborah stated she remained hopeful that the pope’s most cancers had been detected early however had not acquired info on whether or not he would require chemotherapy, radiation or different follow-up therapy.
The Vatican has cancelled the pope’s public engagements by October 20 as he recovers from surgical procedure. He is scheduled to embark on an 11-day journey to Uruguay, Argentina and Peru from November 6, though it stays unclear whether or not the go to will proceed as deliberate.
Charles and Queen Camilla met Leo on the Vatican final yr, shortly after his election in May 2025, when he turned the primary American-born chief of the Catholic Church.
The British monarch can be receiving therapy for an undisclosed type of most cancers, which was recognized in early 2024.
As head of the Church of England, Charles serves as its supreme governor. The church emerged within the sixteenth century after King Henry VIII broke with the Roman Catholic Church.
Relations between the 2 church buildings have steadily improved over the centuries, regardless of occasional disagreements, notably over the ordination of girls, which the Catholic Church doesn’t allow.
In a historic second final yr, Charles turned the primary British monarch in 500 years to wish publicly with a pope throughout a service presided over by Leo XIV and broadcast dwell on Vatican media.
Meanwhile, Louis and his youthful brother, Robert Prevost, who turned Pope Leo XIV, grew up with their different brother, John, within the Chicago space.
Following the papal election, Louis recalled their childhood, revealing that Robert typically pretended to be a priest whereas different youngsters performed video games corresponding to cops and robbers.
In an interview with ABC News, Louis stated his youthful brother even used Necco wafers to mimic the distribution of Communion.
Despite his brother’s historic elevation to the papacy, Louis stated he continued to treat him first as household.
“He will always be Rob,” Louis advised CBS News in 2025. “If we do get over there and do get to meet him, I’m still going to treat him like my little brother.”
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