Pope Leo XIV told supporters he was feeling “much better” as he left a Rome hospital on Saturday, four days after undergoing surgery for lung cancer.
The 71-year-old pontiff, Robert Francis Prevost, was discharged from Agostino Gemelli University Hospital ahead of schedule, climbing into a black SUV while greeting well-wishers. His release came just three days before doctors had originally planned, a swift recovery that the Vatican confirmed with a bulletin noting routine checks had “yielded normal results” and a chest X-ray showed “good recovery of the lung that underwent surgery.”
During his hospital stay, Leo maintained an active routine. The Vatican reported that he “carried out his daily activities independently,” celebrated mass in the hospital, and completed physiotherapy that “included a full range of physical activities.” On Thursday, the day before his discharge, he was already moving through his regimen without assistance.
The surgery itself, performed Tuesday, lasted 90 minutes and began as a procedure to remove what the pope had publicly called a “localized nodule.” During the operation, surgeons discovered a malignant tumor and removed the lower lobe of his right lung, delivering a diagnosis of lung adenocarcinoma, a common form of lung cancer.
That public announcement, made from the Apostolic Palace window during Sunday noon prayer on Oct. 11, broke with centuries of Vatican tradition. The Catholic Church has historically shrouded papal health issues in secrecy, a practice that Rev. Patrick Flanagan, chair of St. John’s University’s theology department, said may have concealed previous pontiffs’ incapacitations.
“I’m not convinced that there have been previous popes that have not been incapacitated that we knew nothing about. They just didn’t show up,” Flanagan said.
The American-born pope’s transparency, Flanagan suggested, reflects his roots.
“One of his American traits is that he wants to be as transparent as he can be with the people of God in front of him. So I think he’s trying to balance transparency with privacy,” he said.
The diagnosis comes just 17 months after Leo’s election in May 2025, raising immediate questions about governance during his recovery and beyond. Church law offers no clear mechanism for temporarily transferring a pope’s authority during medical incapacity, Flanagan explained.
“Church law does not provide for any emergency situations. If a pope were to be incapacitated, get sick, get dementia or be in the hospital for a period of time, there’s no real indication of who would be in charge,” he said.
The institutional vacuum has not halted operations. “One of the beautiful things about the Catholic Church is that it’s a well-run organization. Everyone has a place and everyone knows the responsibility. So the church continues,” Flanagan added.
Leo’s hospitalization interrupted a weeklong Vatican summit marking the 10th anniversary of Amoris Laetitia, Pope Francis’s document on love, marriage and sexuality. The gathering of 200 cardinals, bishops, experts and married couples from Oct. 7-14 addressed topics ranging from young couples’ cohabitation to social media influencers promoting “trad wife” culture.
During the symposium, the pope released a statement: “As you know, I have been unable to be among you during these days. I thank you warmly for your prayers and for the work you have done together. Your sharing of experiences and attentive listening are indeed a gift to the whole Church. I ask you please to pray for me, as I pray for you.”
Thousands had gathered in St. Peter’s Square on Oct. 12 for a Mass Pope Leo was scheduled to celebrate. Instead, Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle, whom Leo approved as the new dean of the College of Cardinals just four days earlier, presided.
“The reaction has been overwhelmingly strikingly touching because people recognize that in just a short period of time that he’s been pope, he’s made such an incredible impact,” Flanagan said.
The Vatican has canceled all papal audiences until Oct. 20, though Leo is expected to conduct Sunday noon prayer from the Apostolic Palace window. Whether he will require further treatment, such as chemotherapy, remains unannounced.
The pope’s schedule faces mounting pressure. He missed a Tuesday trip to Castel Gandolfo to present a sustainability medal in his name on behalf of Villanova University, his alma mater, during its International Sustainability Conference. Rev. Peter M. Donohue, Villanova’s president, presented the medal to Cardinal Michael Czerny instead.
A Nov. 1 Villanova basketball game against Notre Dame at Rome’s Palazzo dello Sport, dubbed the Eternal City Tip-Off, had drawn speculation about Leo’s attendance. The event includes an Oct. 31 private Mass at St. Peter’s Basilica celebrated by Archbishop Nelson J. Pérez and a planned audience with the pope at St. Paul VI Audience Hall.
More consequentially, a Nov. 6-17 trip to Uruguay, Argentina and Peru, where Leo served as Bishop of Chiclayo from 2015 to 2023, remains booked. The 12-day itinerary spans 19,000 miles and 14 flights.
“I think the South American trip is so important because we saw his trip to Paris did,” Flanagan said, referencing the pontiff’s visit that drew a record-breaking crowd of around 800,000. “I mean, it really revolutionized the reality of that city.”
For someone so early in his tenure to confront such vulnerability, Flanagan noted, carries its own weight.
“For someone to tell you about their vulnerability is pretty remarkable… Because, you’re not even two years into your job and you’re already dealing with health issues. And people are starting to worry — will this impact the rest of his pontificate?”
The Vatican has not announced whether the South American journey will proceed as scheduled.