Pope Leo to Skip Assisi Peace Gathering as Doctors Urge Post-Surgery Caution

Pope Leo to Skip Assisi Peace Gathering as Doctors Urge Post-Surgery Caution

A Friday announcement cancels the October 27 trip

Pope Leo XIV will not travel to Assisi on October 27 for the "Unarmed and Disarming Peace" gathering, the Holy See Press Office announced on Friday, October 23. According to the Associated Press, the 71-year-old pontiff made the decision on his doctors' advice, "to facilitate his recovery" from thoracic surgery performed the previous week. Instead of attending in person, the pope will send a written message to the organizers, religious leaders and guests.

X-ray shows excellent progress, but helicopter ruled out

In a separate medical bulletin signed by Dr. Luigi Carbone and Professor Stefano Margaritora, the pope's physicians said he had undergone a scheduled follow-up chest X-ray. EWTN News quoted the bulletin as saying the examination confirmed his postoperative recovery was progressing "exceptionally well." However, the doctors added that "given the short time that has elapsed since the operation," they recommended as a precaution that he skip the planned helicopter trip to Assisi on October 27. The Catholic Review reported the same wording.

Lower right lung lobe removed; adenocarcinoma diagnosed

Reuters reported that the pope underwent surgery on October 13 to remove the lower lobe of his right lung and was diagnosed with lung adenocarcinoma, the most common form of lung cancer. The Catholic Review noted that the pope was admitted to Rome's Gemelli hospital on October 13, two days after he personally announced that doctors had found a "small, localized" lesion. His medical team said earlier in the week that tissue examinations had confirmed the cancer was localized.

A 40th-anniversary gathering rooted in 1986

The Assisi meeting marks the 40th anniversary of the World Day of Prayer for Peace convened by St. John Paul II in 1986, which for the first time brought representatives of all world religions together to pray for peace, The Tablet reported. The three-day event, running from October 25 through October 27, is organized annually by the Community of Sant'Egidio, a Catholic lay organization. The Vatican said the pope's message will stress his conviction that the "Spirit of Assisi," dialogue and gestures of peace are precious resources in an age of conflict.

Attention turns to the November Latin America trip

The cancellation is the latest adjustment to the pope's schedule since the operation. The New York Post noted that thoracic surgeons often advise patients not to fly for three weeks after such surgery, a window that bears on the pope's planned November 6-17 visit to Uruguay, Argentina and Peru, a journey involving about a dozen flights. The Vatican has not announced any change to that trip, and further medical bulletins in the coming days will be closely watched.