Vatican Releases First Images of Pope Leo XIV Celebrating Mass in Hospital After Cancer Surgery

Vatican Releases First Images of Pope Leo XIV Celebrating Mass in Hospital After Cancer Surgery

First images since the surgery

The Vatican released two photographs on Friday showing Pope Leo XIV celebrating Mass at Rome's Gemelli hospital, the first images of the pontiff since he underwent lung cancer surgery on Tuesday. Vatican Media issued the pictures, and wire services carried them worldwide within hours.

Green vestments, a makeshift altar

The 71-year-old pope is shown standing in green vestments at an altar in a makeshift chapel set up on the hospital's 10th floor, with his private secretary, the Peruvian priest Edgard Rimaycuna, at his side. Spokesman Matteo Bruni said Leo presided over the liturgy alone, distributed Communion to those present and delivered a homily. In it, according to media accounts, he thanked the doctors, nurses and orderlies for the work they do every day caring for patients, and especially for what they have done and continue to do for him.

Doctors report steady improvement

The same day, the Holy See Press Office published a joint medical update signed by Leo's personal physician, Dr. Luigi Carbone, and the head of thoracic surgery at Gemelli, Dr. Stefano Margaritora. They said blood tests and a chest X-ray performed that morning "confirmed the steady improvement in his overall condition," that respiratory physiotherapy was continuing, and that his post-operative recovery allows him to carry out normal daily activities entirely on his own.

Right lung lobe removed, adenocarcinoma confirmed

The operation took place on the afternoon of Tuesday, Oct. 13. Surgeons used a video-assisted technique to remove the lower lobe of the pope's right lung, and examination of the tissue confirmed a diagnosis of lung adenocarcinoma, the most common type of lung cancer. The Vatican said pre-operative tests had already pointed to that diagnosis, which the surgery confirmed.

Ninety minutes in the operating room

According to the medical bulletin, Leo spent about three hours in the operating room, while the surgery itself lasted approximately 90 minutes. The doctors said the operation was successful and there were no complications. He woke up as expected and, after a brief period of observation, returned to his room on the 10th floor. The hospital stay had been expected to last about a week.

A pope who announced his own diagnosis

Leo disclosed the illness himself. After the traditional Angelus prayer on Sunday, Oct. 11, he told pilgrims in St. Peter's Square that doctors had found a nodule that was caught at a very early stage and was well-contained, that they advised surgery, and that he had agreed to follow their advice. The Associated Press described the disclosure as an unusual level of transparency about papal health under the American pope. Church historian Giovanni Maria Vian called it "truly a revolution — it was like he was reading a medical bulletin himself."

Get-well notes from the tenth floor

The Vatican also released photos of get-well notes sent to Leo by patients in Gemelli's pediatric oncology ward, which is also on the 10th floor, a place popes have often visited during their own hospitalizations. According to the AP, one note came from 7-year-old Angelo, who wrote that he had been on the 10th floor for 36 days. "My mother and I pray for you every night. Get well soon," he wrote, with little hearts at the bottom.

Sunday Angelus may be a first public appearance

Bruni confirmed that Leo will deliver the traditional noontime prayer on Sunday, which would be his first public appearance since the procedure, but the Vatican did not say whether he would do so from the hospital or from the Vatican. Popes who have been hospitalized have recited the Angelus from the balcony on Gemelli's 10th floor; John Paul II did so in February 2005, and Francis in July 2021 after colon surgery.

A call to Putin while still in hospital

On Oct. 17, the Vatican said the pope had spoken by telephone with Russian President Vladimir Putin, expressing deep concern over the grave humanitarian situation in the city of Oleshky, in Ukraine's Kherson region, and calling for a ceasefire to allow food and medical aid in and the voluntary, safe evacuation of civilians. He reaffirmed the Holy See's commitment to dialogue and peace.

November trip to South America still on the books

Leo had been scheduled to visit Uruguay, Argentina and Peru from Nov. 6 to 17, covering ten cities. The journey was thrown into question by the diagnosis. But on Oct. 17 the Vatican published the list of journalists accredited to fly on the papal plane — a sign that, at least at the organizational level, the trip is going ahead. Audiences through Oct. 20 have been cancelled, and the Philippine Star reported that he is expected to have a scaled-back schedule with fewer public engagements.

Chicago prays at the pope's childhood home

In Chicago, the pope's birthplace, the faithful held a prayer vigil outside the home in suburban Dolton where he grew up. Cardinal Blase Cupich, archbishop of Chicago, urged people to "join me in asking the Lord to return this son of Chicago to wellness."

A young pontificate, a new rhythm

Elected on May 8, 2025, Leo XIV leads roughly 1.4 billion Catholics. He is the first American-born pope and spent more than two decades as a missionary in Peru. The illness has set off a broader discussion about the pace of his pontificate: whether the South America trip will happen, and whether he can keep up the heavy public schedule he has carried since his election.