Pope Leo leaves hospital four days after lung cancer surgery
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Pope Leo seen for the first time after his hospitalisation, as he celebrated mass in a room at the Gemelli Hospital in Rome on Oct 16.
PHOTO: REUTERS
- Pope Leo left Rome’s Gemelli Hospital four days after lung cancer surgery and returned to the Vatican. He walked unaided, smiled at well-wishers, and will lead prayers on Oct 18.
- Doctors said the 71-year-old was well enough to go home after blood tests and chest scans. They said the operation to remove the lower lobe of his right lung was successful and without complications.
- The diagnosis of lung adenocarcinoma has raised questions about his future papacy. The Vatican says his busy agenda and November trip to Uruguay, Argentina and Peru are still going ahead, though his pace may change.
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ROME – Pope Leo left hospital in Rome on the afternoon of Oct 17 and returned to the Vatican four days after surgery for lung cancer, an illness that has prompted speculation about how it might affect his 17-month papacy.
The 71-year-old walked unaided to his waiting car, stopping to speak to well-wishers outside Rome’s Gemelli Hospital. He stopped to speak to a 13-year-old girl named Varvara from Ukraine who has been in Italy for cancer treatment.
He was pictured smiling broadly and waving through an open window when his black SUV left the hospital. He waved again to crowds as he was driven back into the Vatican but did not speak to anyone there before re-entering the world’s smallest country.
His doctors had earlier said he was well enough to return home after they carried out the latest blood tests and chest imaging.
The Pope, who had an operation on Oct 13 to remove the lower lobe of his right lung, will hold his first public engagement since surgery on Oct 18 when he leads weekly prayers with pilgrims in St Peter’s Square at noon.
Leo has been diagnosed with lung adenocarcinoma, the most common form of lung cancer.
The diagnosis for a pope known to be relatively young and energetic and who was elected only in May 2025 caused shock and raised questions about the future shape of his papacy as he deals with the illness.
The Pope’s doctors have said his surgery was completed successfully, without complications.
They have not yet disclosed the size of the tumour or whether the disease had spread to nearby lymph nodes, key factors in determining prognosis.
Pope pursues packed agenda
The Vatican signalled on Oct 16 that Leo, known for following a busy schedule, intended to keep up his commitments, as some cardinals began to publicly express concern about the Pope’s health.
In a sign the Pope was back to work, Leo held a phone call on Oct 16 with Russian President Vladimir Putin, urging a ceasefire to help get vital supplies into the Russian-controlled Ukrainian town of Oleshky.
The Vatican said work on his Nov 6 to 17 visit to Uruguay, Argentina and Peru, one of the most intense arranged for a pope in decades, was “going forward”.
It released a list of journalists accredited to travel with Leo and cover the trip.
Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Vatican Secretary of State, said on Oct 16 that Leo may need to adjust the pace of his schedule going forward “according to the condition of his health”. It is unusual for a cardinal to say openly that a pope might need to modify his routine.
The Vatican on Oct 16 released the first images of the Pope since his surgery, showing him celebrating mass and standing unaided.
Lebanese pilgrim Abdul Halim Fatha was in St. Peter’s Square as Leo arrived back at the Vatican and expressed sadness over the pope’s cancer diagnosis. “But I know God will be with him and protect him,” he said. REUTERS