Pope Leo XIV Returns to Vatican After Cancer Tumor Removal Surgery

VATICAN CITY (AFP) – Pope Leo XIV returned to the Vatican on Saturday after five days following surgery to remove a cancerous tumor from his lung, as his doctors considered him "fit to leave the hospital."

The 71-year-old Pontiff walked out of Gemelli Hospital in Rome around 3:30 PM (1:30 GMT), smiling and waving to a crowd gathered at the entrance who cheered his welcome.

Before getting into his car, the Pope briefly spoke with the medical team that treated him and several hospital officials, then stopped to talk to a Ukrainian teenage girl suffering from cancer, who wanted to convey her wishes for his recovery.

About ten minutes after the Pontiff left the hospital, his black SUV was seen entering the Vatican through a side gate.

After the Pope's doctors announced he was "fit to leave the hospital," the Vatican confirmed he would indeed be discharged "early in the afternoon and return to the Vatican."

Pope Leo XIV was admitted to Gemelli Hospital in Rome, located north of the Vatican, on Tuesday, where he underwent surgery to remove a cancerous tumor from his right lung.

Doctors Luigi Carboni and Stefano Margaritora wrote in a note published by the Vatican: "Based on blood test results, the chest X-ray performed this morning, and an assessment of the clinical condition, it has been determined that the Holy Father is fit to leave the hospital."

The Vatican announced that the Pontiff "will recite the Angelus prayer tomorrow (Sunday) from the window of the Papal apartment."

The Pope usually recites the "Angelus" prayer every Sunday from the window of the Apostolic Palace overlooking St. Peter's Square, before crowds of believers. However, in recent years, both former Popes John Paul II and Francis recited the prayer from their room window at Gemelli Hospital during their stays there.

The Vatican Press Office stated that the Pope celebrated Mass on Saturday, as he had done in recent days, in a hall converted into a chapel on the tenth floor of the hospital.

Photos released by the Holy See on Friday showed the American Pope celebrating Mass wearing green vestments and a white zucchetto.

The Ukrainian girl, Varvara Struck (13 years old), whom the Pope spoke to upon leaving the hospital, told AFP earlier that she had met the Pontiff last year in Rome.

She added, "He blessed me so my treatment would succeed (...) and thanks to his support, I overcame my illness, and I want to pass on my positive energy so he too can overcome his illness as quickly as possible."

Latin America visit suspended

The announcement of the removal of a cancerous nodule from the Pope's lung raised concerns within the Vatican, although the head of the Catholic Church, which has 1.4 billion followers worldwide, generally enjoys good health and practices sports.

But his doctors confirmed that the lung operated on is recovering well, noting that future steps will be determined based on test results.

A Vatican statement quoted them saying that blood tests conducted on Friday and the chest X-ray showed "steady improvement in his general condition."

The Pope resumed some activities from the hospital before leaving, conducting a phone call on Friday with Russian President Vladimir Putin, urging him to halt the ceasefire in the Ukrainian city of Oleshky, besieged between the Russian and Ukrainian armies on the banks of the Dnieper River.

Both Ukraine and Russia acknowledge a humanitarian crisis in the Oleshky area, but they blame each other for obstructing food deliveries and evacuation operations.

However, the papal tour in Latin America, scheduled from November 6 to 17 and including Uruguay, Argentina, and Peru, remains suspended.

Vatican experts confirmed that Leo XIV, who lived in Peru for 20 years within the Augustinian order mission, is enthusiastic about this long tour, but will likely follow his doctors' advice.

Leo XIV has canceled all audiences until October 20.

Last Sunday, the Pope himself informed the crowd gathered in St. Peter's Square that he would undergo "in the coming days" surgery to remove a lung tumor discovered "at a very early stage," noting that "doctors believe surgical intervention is the most appropriate option."