According to a medical bulletin released by the Vatican on Friday, a follow-up chest X-ray “confirmed his optimal post-operative recovery” Pope Leo XIV has cancelled a visit planned for Tuesday, October 27, to Assisi, in central Italy, after his doctors advised against helicopter travel so soon after the lung surgery he underwent on October 13. It is the first engagement on his schedule to be called off since the operation, two weeks before the start of his tour of Uruguay, Argentina and Peru.
According to a medical bulletin released by the Vatican on Friday, a follow-up chest X-ray “confirmed his optimal post-operative recovery”. “However, given the short time that has elapsed since surgery, the attending physicians considered it appropriate to advise against the helicopter flight planned for October 27 as a precautionary measure,” it added.
In Assisi, the Pope was due to take part in a peace gathering marking the 40th anniversary of the World Day of Prayer for Peace convened by John Paul II. He will send a message to the organisers and participants.
Leo XIV, 71, underwent surgery at Rome’s Gemelli hospital to remove the lower lobe of his right lung, where he was diagnosed with adenocarcinoma. On Wednesday, the Vatican said the tumour was localised and that he will not need further treatment. On Sunday, in his first appearance before the faithful since the operation, the Pope said he would resume his activities “gradually”.
The Vatican has announced no changes to the South American tour, scheduled from November 6 to 17, which will begin in Uruguay, from the 6th to the 8th, and continue in Argentina, until the 11th, and in Peru.