ROME — Pope Leo XIV is being discharged from Rome’s Gemelli Hospital on Saturday afternoon, just four days after surgeons removed a cancerous growth from his lung, BBC News reported, citing the Vatican.
The Vatican said the 71-year-old pontiff will lead the traditional Angelus prayer and blessing for crowds in St. Peter’s Square on Sunday — the same setting where, a week earlier, he surprised the world by announcing he needed surgery.
Tuesday’s 90-minute operation removed the lower lobe of the pope’s right lung after he was diagnosed with adenocarcinoma, the most common form of lung cancer, DW reported. Doctors said blood tests and a chest X-ray showed “steady improvement.” Results of further tests to determine whether the cancer has spread have not yet been announced.
On Friday the Vatican released the first photographs of Leo since the surgery, showing him celebrating Mass for hospital staff. His physicians said his recovery “allows him to carry out his normal daily activities completely on his own.”
Also on Friday, Leo spoke by phone with Russian President Vladimir Putin — their first call since June 2025 — to urge “dialogue and peace,” and called for a humanitarian ceasefire in the Russian-occupied Ukrainian city of Oleshky so civilians can be evacuated and food and medicine delivered, the BBC said.
The pope’s schedule had been cleared until October 20. The Vatican says planning is “going forward” for a November 6–17 trip to Uruguay, Argentina and Peru, where Leo served for years as a missionary, though it remains unclear whether he will be fit to travel.
—
