Pope Leo deemed "fit for discharge" after surgery to remove cancerous tumor

Rome, Italy - Pope Leo XIV will leave the Rome hospital Saturday where he has been recovering from lung cancer surgery, the Vatican said, after doctors deemed him "fit for discharge."

Flowers, candles, and a picture of Pope Leo XIV are laid outside the Gemelli University Hospital, where he underwent surgery to remove a cancerous tumor from his right lung. The Vatican has confirmed that the pontiff has been "deemed fit for discharge."
Flowers, candles, and a picture of Pope Leo XIV are laid outside the Gemelli University Hospital, where he underwent surgery to remove a cancerous tumor from his right lung. The Vatican has confirmed that the pontiff has been "deemed fit for discharge."  © TIZIANA FABI / AFP

Leo (71) has been at the Gemelli hospital north of the Vatican since Tuesday, where doctors removed part of his right lung to extract a cancerous tumor.

"Considering the blood tests, the chest X-ray done this morning, and evaluating the clinical picture, the Holy Father has been deemed fit for discharge," wrote doctors Luigi Carbone and Stefano Margaritora in a note published by the Vatican.

The Vatican confirmed that "Pope Leo XIV will be discharged today from the Gemelli Polyclinic."

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"He will leave the hospital in the early afternoon and return to the Vatican," the Vatican said.

"Tomorrow he will recite the Angelus prayer from the window of the papal apartment."

The Angelus prayer is typically given by the pope from the window of the Apostolic Palace, but in past years, former popes John Paul II and Francis similarly hospitalized at the Gemelli have delivered the prayer from the window of their hospital rooms.

Cover photo: TIZIANA FABI / AFP

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