Pope Leo XIV left the Agostino Gemelli University Hospital shortly after 3:30 p.m. local time on Saturday to return to the Vatican.
The 71-year-old pope had been admitted last Tuesday and underwent surgery just hours later to remove the lower lobe of his right lung. The procedure, which lasted about an hour and a half, was performed using a video-assisted technique, while an intraoperative histological examination confirmed a diagnosis of pulmonary adenocarcinoma.
His discharge from the hospital was announced by the pontiff’s attending physician, Dr. Luigi Carbone, and the surgeon who performed the operation, Professor Stefano Margaritora.
As he left, the pope greeted the faithful gathered along the barriers. Daniele Franco, chairman of the board of the Gemelli University Hospital Foundation, was also there to welcome the pontiff upon his exit.
Before getting into the car, Leo greeted several members of the faithful who presented him with gifts. The pope did not stay in the papal suite on the hospitalʼs 10th floor, as it was undergoing renovation, but rather in adjacent rooms on the same floor.
Yesterday, the first postoperative images of the pope were released, showing Leo XIV presiding over Mass in a room at the Policlinico hospital that had been specially set up for the celebration. Beside the pope was his personal secretary, Monsignor Edgard Iván Rimaycuna Inga.
Around noon Saturday, Oct. 17, the pope also celebrated Mass before leaving the Roman hospital, the Holy See Press Office reported.
In the days following the surgery, Leo XIV has resumed his work, meeting at the hospital on various occasions with Archbishop Paolo Rudelli, substitute for general affairs of the Secretariat of State; Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle, dean of the College of Cardinals; and Cardinal Baldassare Reina, vicar general of His Holiness for the Diocese of Rome.
On Friday, the press office also reported on a telephone conversation between the pope and Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Sunday morning at noon, the pope will appear at the window of his study in the Apostolic Palace for the customary recitation of the Angelus. It was only last Sunday that Leo XIV himself, at the conclusion of the Angelus prayer, announced the news of his imminent hospitalization and the associated surgery.
This story was first published by ACI Stampa, the Italian-language sister service of EWTN News. It has been translated and adapted by EWTN News English.