First posted on Instagram · @profilopolitics
Pope Leo XIV walked out of Rome's Gemelli Hospital on his own Saturday afternoon, smiling and greeting the crowd — just four days after surgeons removed the cancerous lower lobe of his right lung. Doctors called the operation successful and said the 71-year-old pontiff was fit for discharge.
He left through the hospital's main entrance shortly after 3:30 p.m. Rome time, to cheers from the patients, faithful and well-wishers gathered outside. Before getting into his car, the Pope shook hands, accepted gifts, and paused to greet Varvara, a young Ukrainian girl he had met in St. Peter's Square last December before her own successful tumor surgery. He thanked his surgeon, Professor Stefano Margaritora, the university rector Elena Beccalli and the medical team, then waved from the car as the motorcade returned to the Vatican.
The surgery came on Tuesday, October 13, hours after the Pope was admitted. In a 90-minute video-assisted operation, surgeons removed the lower lobe of his right lung, and tests during the procedure confirmed a diagnosis of lung adenocarcinoma — the most common form of lung cancer. The tumor grew from a small nodule spotted early during a routine check-up, a diagnosis Leo himself announced to the faithful at the Angelus on October 11. Doctors are still awaiting final test results to determine the cancer's precise makeup, whether it spread beyond the lobe, and whether further treatment is needed.
The recovery ran ahead of schedule. The Pope was originally expected to stay in hospital until October 20; instead he was out of bed, walking and eating normally within days, and Saturday morning's blood tests and chest X-ray came back clean. His physician, Dr. Luigi Carbone, and Professor Margaritora declared him fit for discharge. Even from his hospital rooms he never stopped working: on Friday the Vatican released the first post-operative photos of Leo celebrating Mass, and he underwent respiratory and physical therapy while handling Vatican business.
President Trump publicly wished him a good recovery and sent his love. "I want to see Pope Leo get well," Trump told reporters on October 14. "It's big stuff. Anytime you have cancer — but the prognosis seems to be good. I just want to wish him well. Get better fast." The warm words landed against months of friction between Washington and the Holy See over migration, the Iran war and press access — and Trump added a personal note, calling the Pope's older brother, Louis Prevost, a friend and "a fantastic guy"; Prevost and his wife are Trump supporters, and Prevost himself is in treatment for cancer.
Leo worked for peace from his hospital bed, too. On Friday he telephoned Russian President Vladimir Putin, expressing deep concern for the humanitarian situation in the Russian-held Ukrainian town of Oleshky and urging a truce so food and first aid can get in and civilians can evacuate safely. Well-wishes poured in from around the world — from Italian President Sergio Mattarella, from King Charles III, and from the two places that formed him: his hometown of Chicago, and Chiclayo, Peru, where he served as bishop for eight years.
Now the recovery continues at the Vatican — and his first public appearance is already set. On Sunday, the Pope is expected to lead the traditional Angelus prayer from the window of the papal apartment overlooking St. Peter's Square, four days after surgery to remove part of his lung. General audiences remain cancelled until October 20. Four days ago he went under the knife; tomorrow, he opens the window.
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