Four days after surgery to remove a cancerous growth from his lung, Pope Leo XIV left Rome’s Gemelli hospital on Friday and returned to the Vatican.
Dozens of well-wishers gathered outside the hospital as the 71-year-old pontiff emerged and climbed into a waiting vehicle.
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Asked about his condition as he was driven away in a black SUV, the pope replied: “I am better, thank you.”
Doctors removed the lower lobe of his right lung after detecting a nodule suspected to be cancerous.
Dr Stefano Margaritora, Gemelli’s head of thoracic surgery, accompanied Pope Leo to the hospital entrance for his formal discharge.
The pope paused briefly when a teenage girl approached him with a homemade papal doll.
About 10 minutes after leaving Gemelli, he passed through the Vatican gates.
The Vatican said Pope Leo would deliver the traditional Sunday blessing tomorrow from a window overlooking St Peter’s Square — exactly one week after telling the crowd that doctors had found a nodule in his lung.
Pope Leo XIV waves to well wishers as he leaves the hospital
In a separate statement, the pope’s personal physician and surgeon said blood tests, a chest X-ray carried out this morning and an evaluation of his clinical condition had shown that he was “deemed fit for discharge from the hospital”.
In an unusually open disclosure, Pope Leo told worshippers gathered in St Peter’s Square last Sunday that doctors had found a nodule in his lung and planned to remove it.
Since undergoing surgery on Tuesday, which confirmed the cancer diagnosis, he has offered repeated signs of a steady recovery. He spoke by phone with Russian president Vladimir Putin, met senior aides and celebrated Mass in a temporary hospital chapel.
Medical updates from his personal physician and surgeon also described a positive post-operative course, saying he had been able to continue with “normal daily activities completely on his own”.
Yesterday, the Vatican published the first images of Pope Leo since the operation. They showed him standing at an altar in the hospital chapel, dressed in green vestments, while doctors reported that tests had confirmed his “continued improvement”.
Flowers, candles and a picture of Pope Leo are laid outside the Gemelli University Hospital
The pope’s next major commitment is a visit to Latin America scheduled for 6 November to 17 November, leaving him three weeks to recover before embarking on a demanding itinerary involving a dozen flights and two helicopter journeys.
The Vatican has signalled that the trip remains on course, publishing the names of journalists accredited to travel aboard the papal plane yesterday.
Oncology surgeons say patients are generally cleared to fly after three weeks, provided their recovery is progressing well.
Doctors are still waiting for test results that will reveal the precise molecular and genetic characteristics of Pope Leo’s cancer, whether it has spread beyond the affected lobe and whether additional treatment will be required.
