Pope Leo XIV celebrates Mass at Gemelli Hospital three days after lung cancer surgery
The Vatican released the first photos of the 71-year-old pontiff since his operation, showing him standing in green vestments at an altar — as doctors confirmed steady improvement and his South America trip remained on the calendar.
Three days after surgeons removed the lower lobe of his right lung, Pope Leo XIV was on his feet at an altar. The Vatican released two photographs on Friday, Oct. 16 — the first since his hospitalization — showing the 71-year-old pontiff standing in green liturgical vestments, celebrating Mass in a makeshift chapel set up for him on the 10th floor of Rome's Gemelli Hospital.
Leo presided over the liturgy alone, delivered a homily, and distributed Communion to medical personnel and Vatican gendarmes present. In the homily, he thanked hospital staff "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," according to Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni.
His post-operative recovery allows him to carry out his normal daily activities completely on his own.— Dr. Luigi Carbone and Dr. Stefano Margaritora, in a joint medical update
The medical bulletin, signed by Leo's personal physician Dr. Luigi Carbone and Gemelli's chief of thoracic surgery, Dr. Stefano Margaritora, noted that blood tests and a chest X-ray showed "steady improvement" in his overall condition. Respiratory physiotherapy sessions are continuing. Discharge remains expected around Tuesday, Oct. 20, though the Vatican has not ruled out an earlier release.
The Oct. 13 surgery established that Leo has adenocarcinoma, a form of cancer that is the most prevalent type affecting the lungs. Test results that would reveal the cancer's exact molecular and genetic profile, whether it has spread beyond the excised lobe, and whether additional treatment will be needed are still outstanding, according to the Los Angeles Times.
Even as those results remain pending, the Vatican sent an organizational signal that life beyond the hospital is being planned. The names of journalists cleared to travel with Leo on his Nov. 6–17 trip to Uruguay, Argentina, and Peru — a journey that had been in question since his diagnosis — were published by the Vatican. The Vatican can change those plans at any time, but the media list posting indicated the trip was proceeding at least on a logistical level.
Vatican media personnel were also seen at Gemelli laying cables for a possible live broadcast of the traditional Sunday Angelus prayer, which Bruni confirmed Leo would deliver. Whether he would do so from the hospital or from the Vatican had not yet been determined, according to the Los Angeles Times.
The Angelus is a brief midday prayer the pope addresses publicly each Sunday, typically from a window overlooking St. Peter's Square. For a hospitalized pope, delivering it — whether in person or via broadcast — has traditionally served as a visible confirmation of recovery.
Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Vatican Secretary of State and a figure who had been seen as a strong candidate in the conclave that chose Leo, said Friday that his understanding was the recovery was going well, adding: "so we're happy." On Thursday, Parolin had caught observers off guard by floating the idea that Leo's pontificate might need to be "adjusted" as a result of the cancer. Asked to clarify Friday, he said he meant adjustments "on the basis of his health conditions," at least "with respect to this next trip."
Along with the medical images, the Vatican made public photographs of handwritten letters that young patients in Gemelli's pediatric oncology ward had sent to Leo — children on the same 10th floor where previous popes have often paid visits during their own stays at the hospital.
Seven-year-old Angelo, from Taurisano in the Italian province of Lecce, wrote that he had been hospitalized for 36 days and had undergone head surgery. He told Leo, "My mother and I pray for you every night. Get well soon," and included a drawing of a yellow sun and birds over a meadow. An 18-year-old patient wrote to Leo in English — a language she said she had long loved — drawing a parallel between their situations and expressing that she felt closer because they were going through something similar; she asked Leo to pray for her recovery as she promised to pray for his.
A letter from Maria Graziela, whose daughter Eleonora was treated in the hospital's neurosurgery and oncology units and has since recovered, offered a message of hope: "Faith moves mountains," she wrote, expressing her belief that "God has heard our prayers."
Why it matters — The images and medical update are the clearest public evidence yet of how quickly — or slowly — a 71-year-old pope with a confirmed lung cancer diagnosis is recovering, with decisions about further treatment, a major international trip, and the shape of his pontificate all hinging on test results still to come.
⚠ Not yet confirmed
- Leo's secretary present at the Mass was Monsignor Edgard Iván Rimaycuna Inga.
- Whether the Nov. 6–17 South America trip will actually take place with Leo aboard.
- exact closing wording of Giorgia's letter presented as direct quote
Sources differ on Meaning of Cardinal Parolin's comment that Leo's pontificate may need to be 'adjusted': Parolin initially suggested the pontificate itself might need adjusting due to the cancer diagnosis. (latimes.com) vs Parolin clarified the next day he meant adjustments 'on the basis of his health conditions,' at least regarding the upcoming trip. (latimes.com)
Reported by religionnews.com, americamagazine.org, latimes.com, ncregister.com, ground.news
