Pontiff Returns to Vatican Following Lung Cancer Operation
Pope Leo XIV returned to the Vatican on Saturday following a four-day hospital stay for lung cancer surgery, walking out of Rome’s Gemelli Hospital to applause from onlookers. The discharge marks an immediate recovery milestone for the world’s 1.4 billion Catholics less than two years into the 71-year-old pontiff’s papacy.
Doctors estimate full recovery within ten days as South America tour remains on schedule
Surgeon Stefano Margaritora confirmed the pontiff is in satisfactory clinical condition after medical teams removed the lower portion of his right lung on Tuesday to extract a cancerous tumour. The lesion was initially discovered by chance during a routine abdominal X-ray that captured a spot at the base of the lung. Medical supervisors stated no clinical obstacles currently prevent the pope’s planned November 6, 17 diplomatic voyage to Uruguay, Argentina, and Peru, where he served two decades as a missionary.
Before exiting the facility in a black SUV through a side entrance to the Vatican, the Chicago-born pope celebrated noon mass in his 10th-floor suite and spoke briefly with medical staff and well-wishers, including 13-year-old Ukrainian cancer survivor Varvara Struck. All papal audiences remain cancelled until October 20, but the Vatican confirmed the pontiff intends to recite the customary Angelus prayer on Sunday from the window of the Apostolic Palace overlooking St. Peter’s Square. He had already resumed official work from his hospital room on Friday, placing a call to Russian President Vladimir Putin to urge a ceasefire in the Ukrainian city of Oleshky.
