Pope Leo XIV will be back at the Vatican on Saturday afternoon after spending four days in hospital recovering from lung cancer surgery.
The 71-year-old pontiff is leaving the Agostino Gemelli Polyclinic in Rome after doctors cleared him for discharge on Saturday. The clearance came after a fresh round of blood tests and a chest X-ray this morning confirmed his condition was stable.
His doctors, Luigi Carbone and Stefano Margaritora, said in a note released by the Holy See that the Holy Father was “fit for discharge” after clinical evaluation.
In a brief statement, the Vatican said the Pope would depart the hospital in the early afternoon for the Vatican and would resume his public duties on Sunday with the noon Angelus from the Apostolic Palace window.
Leo had surgery on Tuesday to remove the lower lobe of his right lung. Doctors had earlier found a suspicious nodule, which was later confirmed to be adenocarcinoma, the most common type of lung cancer.
Unlike the usual secretive approach, the Pope himself told worshippers in St. Peter’s Square last Sunday that a nodule had been found and would be removed.
Since the operation, officials say he has been recovering well, celebrating Mass privately in the hospital, meeting with close aides and even speaking with world leaders over the phone.
His discharge ends a short but closely watched hospital stay at the same facility where Popes John Paul II and Francis were previously treated.
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