rome —
Pope Leo XIV was discharged from the hospital on Saturday, four days after surgery for lung cancer, and promptly returned to public duties after suffering his first health scare since becoming pontiff.
Leo left the hospital unaided and greeted well-wishers, including a 13-year-old Ukrainian girl who gave him a stuffed animal.
America’s first pope, 71, was admitted to Gemelli Hospital on Tuesday, where doctors removed a nodule that turned out to be lung adenocarcinoma, the most common type of lung cancer.
Prior to his release, doctors said Leo had undergone blood tests and X-rays and determined he was ready to be discharged from the hospital.
On Sunday, a week after announcing he would need surgery, he plans to offer the traditional Sunday blessing from a window overlooking St. Peter’s Square.
News of the pope’s illness has been met with shock and concern within the Vatican, but questions have also been raised about what this means for the papacy.
Pope Leo was elected last May at the relatively young age of 69 and is in good health. As a cardinal living in Rome, he has a personal trainer and is also known to enjoy sports such as tennis and swimming.
The pope is scheduled to make a packed visit to Latin America from November 6 to 17, including Uruguay and Argentina, as well as a “return home” to Peru, where he served as a missionary and bishop for many years. The Vatican remains cautious about such travel plans.
Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Holy See’s secretary of state, told reporters on Friday: “We need to see how the Pope feels after being discharged from the hospital, that is, what his health is like, and based on that he will decide whether to continue with the trip or cancel it.”
But since the surgery, the pope has worked at a hospital, hosted cardinals and spoke by phone with Russian President Vladimir Putin to raise awareness of the plight of civilians in the southern Ukrainian city of Oreshki.
Pope doctors told reporters on Saturday that there was “no clinical reason” why the pope’s trip to Latin America next month “should not take place.” They said they expected Leo to take several weeks to make a “truly full physical recovery.”
Historically, popes have submitted letters of resignation when a serious illness or medical emergency prevents them from carrying out their duties.
But Parolin told reporters he didn’t believe Leo had made such a provision. “I don’t think he left anything behind. I didn’t think there was a need for anything, and I didn’t think the problem was serious enough to foresee an absence of government.”
However, a few days before the surgery, the Pope appointed Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle as dean of the College of Cardinals.
As the university’s “first among equals” leaders, the dean plays an important role in presiding over conclaves (must be under 80 years old) and pre-conclave meetings. Future papal elections are considered far in the future. But the appointment of the charismatic 69-year-old Tagle, who had previously been seen as a likely candidate for the pope, was an important internal matter.
This story has been updated. Sharon Braithwaite, Barbie Latza Nadeau and Stefano Pozzebon contributed reporting.
