Pope Leo XIV Celebrates Mass at Gemelli Hospital and Plans Sunday Public Appearance After Lung Cancer Surgery

Pope Leo XIV showed continued improvement on Friday, October 16, five days after undergoing surgery at Rome's Agostino Gemelli University Polyclinic to remove a cancerous nodule from his right lung. The Vatican confirmed that tests have verified his "continued improvement," and doctors described his progress as "steady." The 71-year-old American-born pontiff presided over Mass and distributed Communion in a makeshift chapel set up for him inside the hospital, with the Vatican releasing photographs showing him standing at the altar in green vestments, the first images of Leo since the operation.

The Vatican announced that Pope Leo is expected to make his first public appearance on Sunday to deliver his traditional noontime prayer, a sign of how far his recovery has progressed. Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni confirmed the Mass and the planned appearance. Earlier in the week, doctors had declared the surgery "successful," and Leo had been confirmed as having pulmonary adenocarcinoma, the most common form of lung cancer, with the Vatican saying the cancer was detected at an early stage and doctors were confident it had been removed. Patients and healthcare staff at Gemelli Hospital extended their best wishes for a speedy recovery as treatment continued.