Pope Leo XIV returned to the Vatican on Saturday, four days after surgery to remove part of his right lung, and led the traditional Sunday Angelus prayer from the balcony of the Apostolic Palace in his first public appearance since the operation.
The 71-year-old pontiff, the first American pope, walked out of Rome’s Gemelli Hospital unaided on Saturday, waving to well-wishers before returning to the Vatican, according to the Vatican. His doctors — personal physician Luigi Carbone and thoracic surgeon Stefano Margaritora — said blood tests and a chest X-ray showed his clinical condition allowed him to leave.
The pope underwent surgery on Tuesday, October 13, to remove the lower lobe of his right lung. Tissue examined during the operation confirmed lung adenocarcinoma, the most common form of lung cancer, the Vatican said. Doctors said the surgery was successful and without complications.
Before leaving the hospital, the pope celebrated Mass there — the second consecutive day he had done so, the Vatican press office said. The previous day he celebrated Mass in a room set up on the hospital’s 10th floor, with medical staff and members of the Vatican City State Gendarmerie attending.
Sunday prayer from the balcony
Thousands gathered in St. Peter’s Square on Sunday as the pope led the Angelus in a firm, strong voice, a week after he announced he would need the operation. He thanked his doctors and everyone who prayed for him.
“This experience has given me a profound sense of closeness to all those who are going through illness or a state of infirmity,” he told the crowd.
“Now that this delicate phase has passed, I will gradually resume my activities – always with the help of God and your prayers. Thank you once again.”
The Vatican has canceled the pope’s other public appearances until Wednesday, October 21, as he continues to recover.
A packed November trip hangs in the balance
The pope is scheduled to travel to Uruguay, Argentina and Peru from November 6 to 17, a trip that would include a “homecoming” to Peru, where he served for years as a missionary and bishop, CNN reported.
Margaritora told Vatican News he saw “no clinical reasons” the trip should not go forward, adding that the pontiff could be “fully recovered” in about ten days. The Vatican is remaining cautious about the plans: Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Holy See’s secretary of state, said the pope would decide based on how he feels after his discharge, CNN reported.
The doctors have not yet disclosed the size of the tumor or whether the disease had spread to nearby lymph nodes — key factors in determining the prognosis, Reuters reported.
A working hospital stay
Even from his hospital room, the pope kept working. He met senior aides and received cardinals, and on Friday he spoke by telephone with Russian President Vladimir Putin, raising the plight of civilians in the southern Ukrainian city of Oleshky and calling for a ceasefire to allow aid deliveries and civilian evacuations, CNN reported.
Pope Leo, a nonsmoker, was elected last May at age 69. His doctors say he can carry out normal daily activities independently.
Sources: CNN (two reports); USA Today (two reports); Reuters.
