Pope Leo XIV is scheduled to leave the hospital Saturday, four days after surgery to remove the lower lobe of his right lung, the Vatican announced. He is expected to return to the Vatican in the early afternoon and deliver the traditional noon blessing Sunday from a window overlooking St. Peter’s Square.
The 71-year-old pontiff had surgery Tuesday after doctors found a suspected cancerous nodule. The procedure confirmed adenocarcinoma, the most common type of lung cancer. His personal physician and surgeon said in a statement that Leo was “deemed fit for discharge” based on blood tests, a chest X-ray taken Saturday morning and an assessment of his condition.
The Vatican had first estimated a weeklong stay and canceled audiences through Tuesday. Doctors have since reported steady improvement. On Friday, the Vatican released images of Leo standing at an altar in a hospital chapel, where he celebrated Mass and distributed Communion to medical staff.
Doctors are still waiting on test results that will show the molecular and genetic makeup of the tumor, whether it has spread beyond the lobe and whether more treatment is needed.
Leo is scheduled to travel to Latin America from Nov. 6 to 17. Oncology surgeons generally clear patients to fly about three weeks after surgery, if recovery allows.
