She said: “My daily prayers remain with Pope Leo XIV following his cancer diagnosis, and I assure the Holy Father and the Catholic faithful of the prayers of the Church of England and the Anglican Communion.
“I pray that the Holy Spirit – the Comforter, Healer and Giver of Life – will sustain him in the days and weeks ahead, and that his recovery will be swift and complete.”
Dame Sarah, in the hours after her meeting with the pontiff, had hailed it “a significant moment”, describing the experience as warm, encouraging and hopeful.
She assured the Pope of a “warm welcome from the Church of England should you honour the United Kingdom with a visit”, and offered him gifts including a jar of honey made from nectar from beehives in Lambeth Palace Garden in London.
The Pope commented “still a nurse” when Dame Sarah handed it to him, referring to her previous career as chief nurse in England.