…Celebrates Mass In Hospital
POPE Leo XIV’s recovery after lung surgery is progressing normally, with postoperative blood tests and a chest X-ray showing results within the expected range for the procedure, the Holy See Press Office said Wednesday.
The Pope, who is recovering at Rome’s Agostino Gemelli University Hospital, has also begun walking around his room, undergone respiratory physiotherapy and resumed a normal diet, according to an update issued by his doctors.
The latest assessment provides a positive indication of the 70-year-old pontiff’s condition one day after surgeons successfully removed the lower lobe of his right lung in an operation that lasted about 90 minutes.
The Holy See Press Office said the Pope underwent the scheduled blood tests and chest X-ray on Wednesday morning.
The statement, issued by Dr. Luigi Carbone and Professor Stefano Margaritora, chief of Thoracic Surgery at Gemelli Hospital, said the results confirmed that the postoperative course was proceeding normally, with the measured values within the range expected following the type of operation he underwent.
The doctors also reported that Leo had undergone respiratory physiotherapy and had started walking inside his hospital room. He had returned to eating normally as well, taking both breakfast and lunch.
“His recovery is proceeding as expected,” the medical update said.
The development follows a calm first night at Gemelli after Tuesday’s operation. The Holy See Press Office had reported Wednesday morning that the Pope had spent the night peacefully and that the surgery had been completed without complications.
Pope Celebrates Mass in Hospital
Later on Wednesday, Matteo Bruni, director of the Holy See Press Office, told journalists that Leo celebrated Mass with his secretaries in a room specially prepared for the purpose on the hospital’s 10th floor.
The Mass came as the Pope continued his early rehabilitation following the operation.
The Vatican has said there is no change to the previously announced expectation that Leo will remain in hospital for approximately one week.
Surgery Removed Lower Lobe Of Right Lung
Leo underwent surgery on Tuesday, October 13, after announcing several days earlier that doctors had discovered a small, localized nodule in his lung during medical examinations.
At the time, the Pope said the lesion had been detected at a very early stage and was well localized. He said his doctors had recommended surgery and that he had decided to follow their advice.
The operation at Gemelli was performed using a video-assisted technique to remove the lower lobe of the Pope’s right lung. The Vatican subsequently reported that an intraoperative histological examination confirmed the diagnosis of lung adenocarcinoma that had been suspected from the preoperative examinations.
The Pope spent approximately three hours in the operating room, with the surgical procedure itself lasting about 90 minutes. The Vatican said he awoke normally after the operation and, following a brief period of observation, returned to his room on the 10th floor.
Further Examination of Removed Tissue Expected
The Vatican said further postoperative examinations of the removed tissue would be conducted in the coming days.
For now, the Holy See has emphasized the positive course of the immediate recovery rather than providing additional details about the Pope’s longer-term treatment.
Leo had continued his official schedule until shortly before the operation, holding his scheduled audiences on Monday. His hospitalisation subsequently required changes to his public programme.
The Pope’s decision to undergo surgery followed his Sunday announcement to pilgrims gathered for the Angelus, when he asked for prayers and thanked people for their spiritual closeness.
