VATICAN CITY: Pope Leo XIV will not attend a peace gathering in Assisi next week on doctors’ advice as he recovers from lung cancer surgery, the Vatican said on Friday.
“To support recovery following last Tuesday’s thoracic surgery, and following the doctors’ advice, Pope Leo XIV will not be able to attend the ‘Disarmed and Disarming Peace’ meeting in Assisi on October 27,” the Vatican said in a statement.
READ MORE: Pope Leo to return to Vatican after lung cancer surgery
The Assisi meeting, marking the 40th anniversary of the World Day of Prayer for Peace, will go ahead, with Leo sending a message to the event, the Vatican said.
The pope’s doctors, Luigi Carbone and Stefano Margaritora, said in a separate statement published by the Vatican that, although a chest X-ray showed “excellent progress of the post-operative recovery”, they had advised caution over the trip to Assisi.
“Considering the short time since the surgery, the attending doctors thought it prudent, as a precaution, to advise against the scheduled helicopter trip on October 27,” they said.
Leo, 71, was discharged from Rome’s Gemelli hospital on Saturday, five days after surgery to remove the lower part of his right lung, where doctors had detected a cancerous nodule.
His doctors said on Wednesday that no further treatment was required following the successful operation, as the cancer had been found to be “localised”.
On Sunday, the leader of the world’s 1.4 billion Catholics said he would resume his duties “gradually”.
Doctors have said there is no medical reason for the pope to cancel a long-planned visit to Uruguay, Argentina and Peru, where he lived for two decades, from November 6 to 17.
Leo last visited Assisi, which marks the 800th anniversary of St Francis’ death this year, in August for an event attended by thousands of young people from across Europe.
The prayer event, scheduled from Sunday to Tuesday, will bring together 384 representatives of religions, cultures and institutions from 53 countries, according to the Vatican.
The event was initiated under Pope John Paul II.