Pope Leo XIV has thanked some 15,000 Catholic faithful gathered in St Peter’s Square during his Sunday address, his first major public appearance since lung cancer surgery. The 71-year-old pontiff addressed the crowd from a window overlooking the square at the Vatican, where a week ago on the same occasion of the traditional Angelus blessing, he revealed that a nodule had been found in his lung and would be surgically removed. The operation confirmed he had adenocarcinoma, the most common type of lung cancer.
Test results to determine whether the cancer has spread are still pending. Leo said the experience of the past week “has made me feel especially close to those facing illness and infirmity”. He told the crowd that he had “truly felt your support” and expressed “particular gratitude to the doctors, nurses and all the staff at Gemelli Hospital” in Rome, where he was treated.
The pope paused for a moment and waved before retreating into his apartment in the Apostolic Palace. A delegation from Africa, in Rome for a Catholic meeting, danced and ululated after the pope’s blessing. There had been doubts that a planned papal voyage to Uruguay, Argentina and Peru in November would go ahead.
The Vatican’s secretary of state, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, told journalists on Friday that the pope may need to adjust the pace of his schedule “according to the condition of his health”. But Leo’s surgeon, Stefano Margaritora, told Vatican News he believed there were “no clinical reasons why the trip should not go ahead”. Latin Americans in the crowd in St Peter’s Square welcomed the news.
We know that he is OK, and we’re pleased,” Soledad Espinosa from Ecuador said.
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