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Pope Leo XIV Celebrates Mass at Hospital Following Lung Surgery
· Confirmed
In Short: The Vatican on Friday released the first images of Pope Leo XIV since his lung cancer surgery, showing him celebrating Mass at the Agostino Gemelli Polyclinic in Rome.
Pope Leo XIV, 71, underwent surgery on Tuesday to remove a cancerous growth in his right lung, according to the Vatican.
In a formal statement, the Vatican Press Office confirmed that the Holy Father celebrated Mass with the medical and nursing staff of Gemelli Hospital, as well as with some people who were present there and apparently were not on duty at the time.
The photos showed the pope standing up in his priestly vestments, flanked by his personal secretary, Monsignor Edgard Ivn Rimaycuna Inga.
Vatican spokesperson Matteo Bruni reported that the pontiff spent a restful night in his hospital room and that his post-operative status remains fully stable.
Routine follow-up examinations, including laboratory blood work and a preliminary chest X-ray, yielded satisfactory results, confirming the continued improvement in his recovery.
Pope Leo XIV resumed some papal duties, including distributing Communion during the Eucharistic celebration and delivering a homily.
In his homily, the Pope thanked all the staff—doctors, nurses, and orderlies—for the work they do every day caring for patients in their frailty, and especially for what they have done and continue to do for him.
The Vatican added that the Pope continues to undergo respiratory physiotherapy and is carrying out his normal daily activities entirely independently as he recovers.
Pope Leo XIV will give the traditional Angelus prayer and blessing to a crowd in St Peter's Square on Sunday, as he did last week when he surprised the world by announcing the surgery.
The Vatican stated that his recovery is proceeding as expected, with blood tests and a chest X-ray showing normal postoperative results.
The Vatican has not announced any changes to his planned trip, but medical experts suggest that if additional treatment is required, travel plans might need to be adjusted.
Pope Leo XIV is expected to be discharged from the hospital on Saturday, four days after surgery, according to the Vatican.
What this adds
The Vatican has not specified whether the Pope will deliver the Angelus prayer from the hospital or from the Vatican.
Background
Pope Leo XIV was discharged from Rome's Gemelli Hospital on Saturday, four days after undergoing surgery.
Pope Leo XIV has invited Catholics around the world to join him in praying a Rosary for peace on May 30, 2026, and will lead a World Mission Rosary live from the Lourdes Grotto in the Vatican Gardens on Saturday, October 17, 2026, at 7 p.m.
What's confirmed
- An event every week that begins at 8:00 am on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, repeating until October 31, 2026 An event every week that begins at 8:00 am on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, repeating until October 31, 2026 The Vatican shared an update on Wednesday regarding Pope Leo XIV, noting that the Pontiff is making a steady recovery following lung surgery at Rome’s Agostino Gemelli Polyclinic.
- The Vatican noted that the 71-year-old pontiff has already initiated a targeted regimen of respiratory physiotherapy, resumed eating solid meals for breakfast and lunch, and successfully managed light physical activity by walking brief distances within his medical quarters.
- Vatican spokesperson Matteo Bruni reported that the Holy Father spent a restful night in his hospital room and that his post-operative status remains fully stable.
- In a formal statement released Wednesday, the Vatican Press Office confirmed that routine follow-up examinations—including laboratory blood work and a preliminary chest X-ray—yielded satisfactory results.
- Meanwhile, the Vatican reaffirmed that the pontiff is expected to remain hospitalized at the Gemelli facility for approximately one week to ensure adequate physical rehabilitation.
- Doctors removed the lower lobe of the Pope’s right lung on Tuesday, after preliminary diagnostic screenings identified a suspicious localized nodule.
- Add ANI As A Trusted Source For Reliable Information ANI | Updated: Oct 16, 2026 19:13 IST Rome [Italy], October 16 (ANI): The Vatican on Friday released the first picture of Pope Leo XIV following his surgery, as the Pontiff attended Mass at Rome 's Gemelli Hospital and doctors reported a steady improvement in his overall health condition.
- “He celebrated Mass with the medical and nursing staff of Gemelli Hospital, as well as with some people who were present there and apparently were not on duty at the time,” the Vatican press office said.
- This picture, released by Vatican Media on Friday, Oct. 16, 2026, shows Pope Leo XIV, flanked by his personal secretary, Monsignor Edgard Ivn Rimaycuna Inga, left, celebrating Mass at the Agostino Gemelli Polyclinic in Rome, where he is recovering after having cancer removed from his right lung. (Vatican Media via AP) ROME – The Vatican on Friday released the first images of Pope Leo XIV since his lung cancer surgery, showing him celebrating Mass, as doctors said that tests confirmed the “continued improvement” in his recovery.
- The two photos showed the pope standing up in his priestly vestments.
- Pope Leo XIV had surgery on Tuesday to remove a cancerous growth in his lung, the Vatican announced.
- On Friday morning, the 71-year-old American pope “underwent blood tests and a chest X-ray … which confirmed the steady improvement in his overall condition,” the pope’s doctors said in a statement from the Vatican’s press office.
What's still developing
- In his letter, he explained that he came from Taurisano, in the province of Lecce, and, like the Pope, was staying on the hospital’s tenth floor, after having undergone his own operation, head surgery.
- “Do not be afraid of your smallness”: This was the encouragement offered by Pope Leo XIV to the bishops of the Conference of Latin Bishops in the Arab Regions (CELRA), who were received in audience at the Vatican on September 3, 2026.
- A version of this story was originally published by Vatican News and distributed through a partnership with OSV News.
- Previous medical updates also indicated that routine postoperative checks had yielded reassuring results and that the Pope's recovery was progressing normally.
- Several members of Gemelli Hospital's medical and nursing staff attended the Mass, along with members of the Vatican City State Gendarmerie Corps.
- All appointments on Leo XIV’s schedule through Oct. 20 have been canceled, though the Vatican has not ruled out the possibility that he could be discharged before then.
- In the nearer term, Vatican officials were gaming out possible scenarios for Leo to recite the traditional Sunday noontime Angelus prayer.
- Back in 1984, while living in Rome, the future pope wrote to several friends saying, "my mother continues to undergo chemotherapy treatments. … She's a tough lady and handles it all well, which makes it a little easier for me being so far from Chicago."
- Shortly after his election, Pope Leo said that he had only been hospitalized once in his life before becoming pope when he caught typhoid fever after recently arriving as an Augustinian missionary in Peru in 1985.
- Local media outlets reported Oct. 14 that students at Our Lady of Mount Carmel Academy were planning to send the pope items including get-well cards and a Chicago White Sox blanket.
- The Kremlin blamed Ukraine for the crisis but backed the Vatican’s initiative.
- "The night passed calmly for the Pope. Further information will be provided later today," the Holy See Press Office said on Wednesday, the morning after Pope Leo underwent a successful lung operation with no complications.