Pope Leo XIV was cleared Saturday to leave Rome’s Gemelli Hospital and return to the Vatican, four days after surgeons removed the lower lobe of his right lung.
Dr. Luigi Carbone and Professor Stefano Margaritora made the decision after reviewing blood tests, a chest X-ray and his clinical condition Saturday morning. In a statement released by the Holy See Press Office, they said the pope had been “deemed fit for discharge.”
A separate Press Office statement said Leo would leave in the early afternoon. On Sunday, he is scheduled to lead the midday Angelus prayer from the window of the papal apartment, his first public appearance since entering Gemelli.
Before leaving, he is due to celebrate Mass in the room set aside for worship on the hospital’s 10th floor, the Press Office said. The planned departure comes earlier than the roughly one-week stay the Vatican initially expected.
Leo, 71, underwent surgery Tuesday, Oct. 13. As Virginia Times reported that day, examination of tissue during the operation confirmed lung adenocarcinoma, the diagnosis doctors had suspected from tests before surgery.
Surgeons removed the lower lobe using a video-assisted technique. Leo spent about three hours in the operating room, with the procedure itself lasting around 90 minutes. The doctors said the operation was successful and there were no complications. He woke normally and returned to his room after a brief period of observation.
By Friday, his fourth day in hospital, doctors were reporting steady improvement. Blood tests and a chest X-ray supported that assessment, they said. Respiratory physiotherapy was continuing, and Leo could carry out normal daily activities independently.
In its Friday recovery report, Virginia Times described the Mass he celebrated for Gemelli’s medical and nursing staff and members of the Vatican’s Gendarmerie Corps. He distributed Communion and thanked staff for caring for him and other patients.
Later Friday, he held separate meetings at the hospital with Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle and Cardinal Baldo Reina, according to the Press Office. The Vatican had confirmed Friday that Sunday’s Angelus would take place; Saturday’s announcement established that Leo would lead it from the Vatican.
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