Pope Leo XIV Thanks the Faithful Four Days After Lung Surgery
Pope Leo XIV thanked thousands of faithful in St. Peter's Square on Sunday for their prayers while he was hospitalized for an operation to remove a malignant tumor, and said he plans to gradually return to his usual duties. He sounded strong doing it: the appearance came four days after the lower lobe of his right lung was removed.
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The compressed timeline is what makes the square's reaction legible. A week earlier, on the same occasion of the traditional Angelus blessing, he had used the window to reveal that a nodule had been found on his lung and would be surgically removed. Small wonder a visitor reached for miracle language: surgery on the other day, a public appearance four days later.
His own framing was more careful than the crowd's. He said the week had made him feel especially close to those facing illness and infirmity, and he thanked the doctors, nurses and staff at the hospital where he was treated. Gratitude and solidarity with the sick, rather than a claim about his own recovery.