Pope Leo XIV Leaves Rome Hospital Following Surgery for Lung Cancer

Pope Leo XIV prepared to leave a Rome hospital on Saturday, four days after undergoing lung cancer surgery, clearing the way for his rapid return to public ministry at the Vatican.

Doctors at Gemelli Hospital declared the 71-year-old pontiff fit for discharge after Saturday morning blood tests and a chest X-ray showed steady recovery following the removal of the lower lobe of his right lung.

The swift discharge eases immediate concerns regarding the leadership of the Catholic Church, whose 1.4 billion members faced the prospect of a prolonged papal illness just 17 months into Leo's tenure.

"His post-operative recovery allows him to carry out his normal daily activities completely on his own," said an update signed by his personal physician, Dr. Luigi Carbone, and chief thoracic surgeon Dr. Stefano Margaritora.

The pontiff is scheduled to deliver the traditional noon Angelus blessing on Sunday from a window overlooking St. Peter's Square, which will mark his first public appearance since entering the hospital.

Leo had disclosed the surgery to pilgrims gathered in St. Peter's Square on Sunday, saying doctors had identified a nodule on his lung. Subsequent laboratory analysis confirmed the growth was adenocarcinoma.

The Vatican's quick disclosures marked a sharp shift from earlier eras, when the Holy See concealed the stomach cancer of John XXIII until his death and withheld John Paul II's Parkinson's diagnosis for years.

Before his discharge, the pope celebrated Mass on Friday in a tenth-floor chapel for medical staff and Vatican gendarmes, standing behind a makeshift altar dressed in green vestments.

Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni said the pontiff thanked the hospital workers for "the work they do every day taking care of the sick in their fragility, and in a particular way what they had done for him."

The pope also conducted diplomatic work from his hospital suite on Friday, speaking by telephone with Russian President Vladimir Putin to urge a humanitarian ceasefire in the Russian-occupied Ukrainian city of Oleshky.

About 2,000 civilians remain trapped in Oleshky, where food deliveries ended in May after mines and drones blocked the main access road, according to Ukrainian officials who warned residents face starvation.

The Kremlin said Mr. Putin supported the Vatican's humanitarian effort, though previous commitments along Ukraine’s front lines have yielded little practical relief.

Holy See Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin said he hoped the Russian government would carry out the pontiff's requests for safe evacuation corridors and medical supply deliveries to the besieged city.

Leo also managed church business from hospital, requesting that bishops at a Vatican family meeting postpone releasing their final report until he had personally reviewed the text, according to Jesuit Father Giacomo Costa, an organizer of the summit.

Vatican officials continued preparations for the pope's scheduled 11-day tour of Uruguay, Argentina and Peru in November, releasing the passenger list of traveling journalists on Friday despite questions about his stamina.

Dr. Stephen Liu, an oncologist at MedStar Georgetown University Hospital in Washington, said completing the demanding 10-city tour so soon after major surgery presented significant logistical and physical hurdles.

"A trip to South America that quickly is possible, if this is an early-stage lung cancer and no further therapy is needed, but it is a tight timeline, and recovery is highly variable," Dr. Liu said.

Doctors are still awaiting full laboratory results detailing the cancer's genetic makeup and whether it spread beyond the lung lobe, tests that will determine if the pope requires chemotherapy or further medical treatments.