VATICAN CITY, Holy See: Pope Leo XIV left the hospital to enthusiastic cheers and applause from well-wishers and returned home to the Vatican on Saturday, four days after undergoing surgery for lung cancer.
The 71-year-old pope was seen crossing the lobby of the Gemelli hospital on foot and exiting the building, smiling as he shook hands and waved.
He spoke briefly to the doctors who treated him and hospital officials before pausing to speak with a Ukrainian girl, a cancer survivor who wanted to wish him well in his recovery.
Pope Leo XIV was discharged from Rome’s Gemelli Hospital and returned to the papal apartments in Vatican City State on Saturday afternoon.
The announcement that Pope Leo would be released from hospital was made on Saturday morning.
A separate statement from the Holy See Press Office announced that Pope Leo will lead the noonday Angelus prayer on Sunday from the window of the Apostolic Palace.
— Vatican News (@VaticanNews) October 17, 2026
Soon after leaving the hospital, the pope’s black SUV was seen driving through a side entrance to the Vatican.
Leo’s discharge capped five days of uncertainty that rattled the Vatican and the world’s 1.4 billion Catholics, less than two years into the Chicago-born pope’s papacy.
BREAKING: Pope Leo XIV discharged from the Gemelli Hospital in Rome after undergoing surgery for lung cancer.
The 71-year-old pontiff heads back to the Vatican following an operation to remove a cancerous node in his lung.
He is expected to lead the Angelus prayer from the window of the papal apartment tomorrow. | @foxandfriends
— Fox News (@FoxNews) October 17, 2026
Leo was elected head of the Catholic Church on May 8, 2025.
Earlier Saturday, Leo’s doctors said the pope was “fit for discharge”, according to the Vatican.
He had been at the Gemelli hospital north of the Vatican since Tuesday when doctors removed part of his right lung to extract a cancerous tumour.
“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,” doctors Luigi Carbone and Stefano Margaritora wrote in a note published by the Vatican.
The Vatican said that Leo on Sunday planned to recite the Angelus prayer from the window of the Apostolic Palace overlooking St Peter’s Square, as is customary.
Before his discharge, Leo celebrated mass at noon, according to the Vatican, as he has in recent days, in a room on the 10th floor where he has been recovering.
Up in Air
News that the otherwise active pope had a cancerous tumour removed from his lung was met with trepidation among the world’s Catholics and other supporters.
But his doctors have said Leo’s recovery has been progressing normally as they await the results of tests that will determine the course of action to take.
Leo has resumed some work, making a call on Friday to Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Up in the air, however, is a planned papal voyage to South America, scheduled for November 6-17 to visit Uruguay, Argentina and Peru.
Vatican watchers say that Leo — who spent two decades as a missionary in Peru — is anxious to make the long journey, but will likely follow the recommendations of his doctors.
Leo has cancelled all his audiences until October 20.
The pope announced to the public in St Peter’s Square last Sunday, following the Angelus prayer, that a routine medical examination had revealed a nodule that doctors recommended should be removed.
