Pope Leo XIV has shown “steady improvement” after undergoing recent surgery and a lung cancer diagnosis earlier this week, and he even celebrated Mass at the hospital on Friday.
The Vatican said in a statement that the 71-year-old pope “suffered blood tests and a chest X-ray this morning, which confirmed that his overall condition is steadily improving”. statement Prepared by Luigi Carbone, the Pope’s personal physician. Surgeon Stefano Margaritora) who performed the surgery It added that he will continue to receive respiratory physiotherapy and his recovery has allowed him to “be fully independent in carrying out normal daily activities”.
New photos released by the Holy See Press Office show the pope celebrating Mass in a temporary chapel room on the tenth floor of Rome’s Gemelli Hospital and personally distributing Holy Communion. Medical staff and nursing staff from the hospital were also present, as well as members of the Vatican City National Gendarmerie, according to the Vatican.
Image source: Vatican Media
“In his homily, the Pope thanked all health care workers – doctors, nurses and nursing assistants – for the work they do every day in caring for the sick and those in vulnerable situations, and especially for everything they have done and continue to do for the Pope,” the Holy See Press Office said.
The pope was diagnosed with lung cancer on Tuesday after surgery to remove a “localized” nodule, one of which Surgeons removed the lower lobe of the pope’s right lung. Tests after surgery confirmed the diagnosis of lung adenocarcinoma, a type of non-small cell lung cancer, which was a suspicious finding from previous tests. The Vatican has not said whether the pope needs any further treatment or whether the cancer has spread.
All audiences until October 20 remain cancelled, and he is expected to spend a week recovering in hospital.
The pope plans to pray the Angelus in his first public appearance since Sunday’s surgery, according to the Vatican. It was unclear whether it came from a hospital or the Vatican.