Pope Leo, 71, is all smiles as he leaves hospital following lung cancer surgery

Published: 12:36 BST, 17 October 2026 | Updated: 23:04 BST, 17 October 2026

Pope Leo XIV smiled and waved to well-wishers as he was released from hospital, just four days after surgery to remove a cancerous mass from his lung.

The pontiff, 71, went in for the 90-minute procedure on Tuesday morning after a lesion was found on his chest and he was later diagnosed with cancer after having part of his right lung removed.

Doctors have confirmed he has adenocarcinoma, the most common type of lung cancer.

But Pope Leo is expected to deliver the traditional noon blessing today from a window overlooking St Peter's Square, the Vatican added. His personal physician said earlier that Pope

Leo was 'deemed fit for discharge from the hospital' based on blood test results and a chest X-ray taken on Saturday morning.

The American pontiff left Rome's Gemelli Hospital on Saturday afternoon and returned to the Vatican.

He has offered a rare level of transparency after announcing last Sunday to the faithful gathered in St Peter's Square that doctors had identified a nodule on his lung, and that it would be removed.

Pope Leo revealed his diagnosis to millions around the world on live television almost as an aside at the end of his blessing.

Pope Leo XIV smiled and waved to well-wishers as he was released from hospital, four days after undergoing surgery to remove a cancerous mass from his lung

Doctors have confirmed the Pope has adenocarcinoma, the most common type of lung cancer

Pope Leo XIV greets a doctor as he leaves Agostino Gemelli University Hospital

His personal physician and surgeon said in an earlier statement that Pope Leo was 'deemed fit for discharge from the hospital'

The Pope was flanked by his entourage as he left Gemelli Hospital on Saturday afternoon

A crowd of well-wishers gathered at the hospital to catch a glimpse of Pope Leo

Pope Leo XIV was pictured on Friday celebrating Mass at the Agostino Gemelli Polyclinic, Rome

The Vatican has previously been extremely secretive about the health of popes – a practice encapsulated in the Italian saying, 'The Pope is fine until he's dead.'

Since his surgery, Pope Leo has given strong indications he has been recovering well, including by holding a phone call with Russian president Vladimir Putin, meeting with top aides and celebrating Mass in a hospital chapel.

His personal doctor has also indicated a good post-operative recovery that has allowed the pontiff to carry on 'normal daily activities completely on his own.' 

On Saturday, the Vatican released the first images of Leo since his lung cancer surgery, showing him standing at an altar in a hospital chapel. The Pope presided alone over the liturgy, distributing Communion to medical personnel and Vatican gendarmes, spokesman Matteo Bruni said.

The pontiff's next major engagement is a trip to Latin America next month, which gives him three more weeks to recover. His ambitious itinerary is said to include a dozen flights and two helicopter trips.