Leo XIV, officiating mass and looking well in the first photographs after his operation.
Vatican City, Oct 16 (EFE)
Leo XIV is showing “steady improvement” and can carry out his daily activities with complete autonomy, the Vatican reported on Friday, releasing the first photographs of the pontiff after undergoing surgery for a lung adenocarcinoma: officiating a mass at the Gemelli hospital and looking apparently well.
On his fourth day in the hospital, the 71-year-old Pope underwent blood tests and a chest X-ray, which confirmed the steady improvement in his overall condition. He also continued his respiratory physiotherapy sessions, according to a statement from his doctors, Luigi Carbone and Stefano Margaritora.
“His recovery allows him to carry out his daily activities with complete independence,” the medical team added.
This Friday, sources from the Vatican press office also revealed that Leo XIV will preside over the Angelus prayer next Sunday, although it is not yet known where and how he will do so.
It was precisely during the last Sunday Angelus, on October 11, that the Pope himself publicly announced from the window of the Apostolic Palace of the Vatican that he had to undergo surgery to remove a nodule in one of his lungs.
The procedure took place on the afternoon of October 13, in an operation in which the lower lobe of the right lung was removed using a video-assisted surgery technique, a “radical” technique to remove the cancerous tissue.
First photographs after the operation
The Vatican on Friday released the first images of Pope Leo XIV after his operation, officiating mass at the Gemelli Hospital alongside his personal secretary, the Peruvian Edgar Rimaycuna.
These are two photographs showing Robert Prevost looking apparently well, taken this Friday at noon in the room set up on the tenth floor of the Gemelli hospital to accommodate the pontiff during his convalescence, since the private apartment owned by the Vatican is under construction.
The image shows the Pope wearing green vestments and his white zucchetto. Medical and nursing staff from the hospital were present at the Mass, as were members of the Vatican City State Gendarmerie Corps.
During his homily, Leo XIV thanked all the staff at Gemelli Hospital “for the work they do every day caring for the sick and attending to their frailty, and, in a special way, for all they have done and continue to do for him,” according to the Vatican.
Trip to Latin America
And while the Pope’s recovery continues, the Vatican press office published on Friday the list of journalists authorized to travel on the papal flight for the apostolic visit to Uruguay, Argentina and Peru scheduled from November 6 to 17.
The publication of this list does not, however, constitute an official confirmation of the papal trip, as it is merely a logistical matter for the Vatican press office.
Letters from children admitted to the oncology area of ​​the Gemelli
During these days of convalescence, Leo XIV is receiving support from all over the world, including from the children admitted to the pediatric oncology department of the Gemelli Polyclinic in Rome, which is on the same floor as the pontiff.
The Vatican today published some of the letters from these children that have reached the Pope, such as Angelo’s: “I am Angelo, I am 7 years old (…) I have been here, on the tenth floor, for 36 days. I have also undergone brain surgery. My mom and I pray for you every night. I wish you a speedy recovery,” reads one of the notes.
Another letter is from an Italian-Chilean family whose daughter is in the oncology ward, and they write to her in Spanish. “Our prayers are with you during this time. I ask God the Almighty Father and the Blessed Virgin Mary that your stay here in the hospital goes well and that everything turns out well.”
