Pope Leo to miss Assisi gathering – Vatican

Pope Leo XIV waves to the crowd during the weekly general audience at St Peter’s Square in The Vatican on October 21, 2026. (Photo by Tiziana FABI / AFP)

Pope Leo XIV will not attend a peace gathering at Assisi next week on doctors’ advice as he recovers from lung cancer surgery, the Vatican said Friday.

“To support recovery following last Tuesday’s thoracic surgery, and following the doctors’ advice, Pope Leo XIV will not be able to attend the ‘Disarmed and Disarming Peace’ meeting in Assisi on October 27th,” wrote the Vatican in a note.

The Assisi meeting, on the 40th anniversary of the World Day of Prayer for Peace, will go ahead with Leo sending a message to the event, the Vatican said.

The doctors, Luigi Carbone and Stefano Margaritora, wrote in a separate note published by the Vatican that although a chest X-ray of the pope showed “excellent progress of the post-operative recovery”, they advised caution for the Assisi trip.

“Considering the short time since the surgery, the attending doctors thought it prudent, as a precaution, to advise against the scheduled helicopter trip on October 27,” they said.

Leo, 71, was discharged on Saturday from Rome’s Gemelli hospital five days after surgery to remove the lower part of his right lung where they had detected a cancerous nodule.

His doctors said Wednesday that no further therapy was required following the successful operation, with the cancer having been found to be “localised”.

On Sunday, the leader of the world’s 1.4 billion Catholics said he would resume his duties “gradually”.

Doctors have said there is no medical reason that the pope cannot go ahead with a long-planned visit to Uruguay, Argentina and Peru, where he lived for two decades, on November 6-17.

Leo last visited Assisi — which celebrates this year the 800th anniversary of St Francis’ death — in August for an event with thousands of young people from across Europe.

The prayer event, held from October Sunday to Tuesday, will bring together 384 representatives of religions, cultures and institutions from 53 countries, according to the Vatican.