Pope to return to Vatican after cancer surgery

Pope Leo XIV is set to return to the Vatican after being discharged from a Rome hospital where he underwent surgery for lung cancer. The 71-year-old pontiff has been recovering at the Gemelli hospital since Tuesday, following the removal of a tumour from his right lung. Doctors Luigi Carbone and Stefano Margaritora confirmed in a note published by the Vatican that Leo was deemed fit for discharge based on blood tests, a chest X-ray, and an evaluation of his clinical condition.

The Vatican noted that Pope Leo XIV will leave the hospital in the early afternoon and return to the Vatican, where he will recite the Angelus prayer from the window of the papal apartment on a subsequent day. The Angelus prayer, typically delivered by the pope from the window of the Apostolic Palace, has been recited in hospital rooms by previous hospitalized popes John Paul II and Francis.

Leo has resumed some work, including a phone call to Russian President Vladimir Putin urging a ceasefire in the Ukrainian city of Oleshky. However, a planned papal voyage to South America in November remains uncertain as his doctors await test results to determine the next steps in his recovery. Leo has canceled all audiences until October 20, with the announcement of his cancer diagnosis being made public in St. Peter’s Square following the Angelus prayer on Sunday.