VATICAN (OSV News): One week after Pope Leo XIV first revealed to the world that he would be undergoing lung surgery, the pope returned to the window of the Vatican’s Apostolic Palace on October 18, thanking Catholics worldwide for their prayers five days after undergoing lung cancer surgery.
“I would like to thank all those who have prayed for me in recent days. I have truly sensed your support,” the pope said after leading the crowd in St. Peter’s Square in the prayer of the Angelus.
“This experience has made me feel particularly close to all those who are living with illness or infirmity. Now that I have overcome this delicate phase, as you know, I will gradually resume my activities, always with God’s help and your prayers,” he added.
The pope expressed gratitude to all of the doctors, nurses, and staff at Rome’s Gemelli Hospital, where he underwent lung cancer surgery on October 13 to remove the lower lobe of the right lung.
It was Pope Leo’s first public appearance since he had been discharged from Rome’s Gemelli Hospital the day prior after his doctors deemed him fit to return to the Vatican earlier than had been originally expected.
Thousands of people in St. Peter’s Square on the cloudy Sunday cheered loudly when the pope waved from the window of his papal apartment less than 24 hours after his hospital discharge
Dr. Stefano Margaritora, the lead surgeon for Pope Leo’s 90-minute lung cancer operation on October 13, said in an interview with Vatican News on the day of his hospital discharge that he saw no clinical reason to cancel the pope’s planned trip to South America.
“As for a long trip involving air travel in about three weeks, I would say there are no clinical reasons why it should not take place,” Margaritora said, indicating that he believed that from a medical standpoint that Pope Leo could be ready to undertake the demanding visit to Latin America scheduled for November. 6-17.
“Since almost a week has already passed, I believe the pope could be fully recovered in another ten days or so,” he said.
Margaritora, who is the chief thoracic surgeon at Gemelli Hospital, described Pope Leo as “an ideal patient.”
The doctor also shared a story of how Pope Leo offered a helping hand moving chairs in the chapel so that he could celebrate Mass two days after his cancer surgery.
In his Angelus address, the pope marked the 100th anniversary of World Mission Sunday.
“Let us think of how much missionary history has unfolded over these 100 years,” Pope Leo said. “Let us pray that the Church may always remain faithful to the mandate of the Risen Lord: ‘Go into all the world and proclaim the good news to the whole creation.’”
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