Pope Leo XIV leaves Rome’s Agostino Gemelli Polyclinic
Vatican
The 71-year-old pontiff had the lower lobe of his right lung removed on Tuesday.
CATHOLIC FAITHFUL CONVERGED on St Peter’s Square on Sunday to welcome Pope Leo XIV back to the Vatican after surgery to remove a tumour from his lung.
Leo delivered the traditional Angelus blessing, his first official appointment since being released from the hospital on Saturday, four days after cancer surgery.
The 71-year-old pontiff had the lower lobe of his right lung removed on Tuesday in the first major health event of his 17-month pontificate. The surgery confirmed he had adenocarcinoma, the most common type of lung cancer.
Pope Leo XIV thanked well-wishers for praying for him after his cancer surgery and said he would resume work “gradually”.
“I would like to thank all the people who have been praying for me in these days,” the 71-year-old told a crowd in St Peter’s Square, adding: “I will now gradually resume my activities.”
“I don’t believe it, because he was just operated on the other day,” Cosimo Mastrocinque, a retired factory worker visiting the Vatican from the southern region of Puglia, said.
“It is a miracle that he has recovered already.”
American tourists were especially eager to pray alongside the first pope born in the United States. Marla Marsala of Michigan was supposed to attend a Mass with the pope last week that was cancelled due to his hospital admission.
“I am just happy that we are praying with him today instead of for him, like we were before,” Marsala said.
“It was a tough week for all the people who love him, who are many. He seems like a very strong soul. So I think he will pull through and fight it, and succeed and keep doing the wonderful work he is doing.”
Claire Holland from Jacksonville, Florida, said she felt “very blessed” to be present for the pope’s return to his flock.
“I’m so happy that he has recovered so quickly. I think there have been millions and millions of prayers. And he is a strong-determined man, and I am so happy that he is feeling well enough to do this,” Holland said.
Leo’s next major engagement is an ambitious November 6-17 trip to Uruguay, Argentina and Peru, including a dozen flights and two helicopter rides to high altitudes.
His surgeon, Dr Stefano Margaritora, told Vatican News on Saturday that there are “no clinical reasons” to preclude the trip.
“The Holy Father has put his heart and soul into his recovery,” Margaritora told Vatican News, adding that he expected the pope to recover fully from surgery “in another 10 days or so”.
“As for a long trip involving air travel in about three weeks, I would say there are no clinical reasons why it should not take place,” Margaritora said.
Histological testing of the tumour and related lymph nodes was under way. The results, along with details of the tumour’s molecular and genetic make-up, will help doctors determine whether the pope needs additional treatment.
Options include chemotherapy, a combination of chemotherapy and immunotherapy, or targeted oral therapy based on the tumour’s genetic characteristics.
With additional reporting by AFP