Pope Leo XIV Celebrated Mass In Hospital, His Recovery Is Going Better Than Expected
On October 11, Pope Leo XIV stood at the window of St. Peter's Square after the Sunday Angelus and told the crowd something unusual: he was going to the hospital for surgery to remove a small nodule from his lung, and he wanted them to know — a moment of transparency that broke with decades of Vatican tradition, in which popes' health was typically kept private and disclosed only when unavoidable. Two days later, on October 13, Leo arrived at Rome's Gemelli hospital and underwent a 90-minute video-assisted surgery during which surgeons removed the lower lobe of his right lung. The Vatican confirmed that evening that the procedure had been successful and had revealed a diagnosis of pulmonary adenocarcinoma, the most common form of lung cancer. The diagnosis had been suspected before the operation and the surgery removed the tumor without complications.
The recovery since has been remarkably swift, with each day bringing a more encouraging update from the Vatican. By Wednesday, Leo had resumed his regular diet, walked around his room, and celebrated Mass in the hospital. By Thursday, his doctors reported that a chest X-ray showed "good recovery of the operated lung." On Friday, October 16, the Vatican released photographs of the 71-year-old pope celebrating Mass at Gemelli hospital — the first images released since his surgery — and doctors reported "a steady improvement in his general condition." Doctors are awaiting histological examination results to determine whether the cancer had spread, and oncologists say that when detected this early, lung adenocarcinoma carries a survival rate of 80 to 98 percent following surgical removal. "We're hoping it's just an isolated cancer where he's one and done," said one specialist. Prayers from leaders of every major world religion have been arriving at the Vatican all week, and the pope, by all indications, is doing well.
