Pope Leo resumes duties from hospital after lung surgery

Summarised from 2 outlets · 3 reports · Updated 15 Oct, 19:02 · Archive

Pope Leo XIV has resumed some papal duties from hospital as he recovers from surgery to remove a cancerous growth from his right lung. The Vatican confirmed Thursday that the 71-year-old celebrated Mass and began reading documents. He also met with Archbishop Paolo Rudelli, the Vatican's chief of staff, who handles much of the day-to-day administrative work of the Holy See.

Doctors said the pope's post-operative recovery is proceeding as expected. His personal physician Dr Luigi Carbone and thoracic surgeon Dr Stefano Margaritora reported that chest X-rays showed good recovery of the operated lung and that his post-operative tests remained within normal levels. The pope had undergone physiotherapy on Thursday involving full mobility exercises and was going about his daily activities independently.

The surgery on Tuesday confirmed that the pope had adenocarcinoma, the most common type of lung cancer. Doctors are still awaiting results of tests to understand the cancer's molecular makeup, whether it has spread beyond the lobe and whether any further treatment is necessary. The Vatican said the pope is expected to be released from Rome's Gemelli Hospital on 20 October, a week after admission. He expressed a wish to lead the Angelus prayer from hospital on Sunday, though it is unclear whether that will happen. Al Jazeera reports it is also unclear whether he will make his planned trip to South American countries next month.

How it is being reported

• Pope Leo resumes work in hospital while recovering from surgeryCatholic leader met top Vatican aide, as doctors say recovery proceeding after lung surgery to remove cancerous growth.Al Jazeera · 15 Oct, 18:25
• Pope Leo resumes some papal duties after surgery, Vatican saysPope Leo XIV has resumed some work, the Vatican said Thursday, after he had a piece of his right lung removed and received a diagnosis of lung cancer.CBS News · 15 Oct, 17:00
• Pope Leo returns to some papal duties as he recovers from surgery, Vatican saysPope Leo XIV has returned to some of his daily activities as he recovers from lung surgery, the Vatican says. CBS News' Chris Livesay has more on this.CBS News · 15 Oct, 15:01

In this story: Pope Leo XIV · Archbishop Paolo Rudelli · Dr Luigi Carbone · Dr Stefano Margaritora · Gemelli Hospital · Rome

This summary was written by AI from the headlines and standfirsts above, and states as fact only what at least two outlets report. How we use AI · Report a problem