Pope Leo XIV left a Rome hospital on Saturday, four days after surgery for lung cancer, and the surgeon who operated on him said there is no medical reason the pope cannot make his South America tour next month.
The pope walked out of Gemelli hospital and returned to the Vatican in the afternoon. Asked how he felt, he said: “I am much better, thank you.” Doctors had cleared him after morning blood tests and a chest X-ray. On Sunday he is due to lead the Angelus, the traditional midday prayer, from a window of the papal apartment.
Dr. Stefano Margaritora, head of thoracic surgery at Gemelli, told Vatican media he would say there are “no clinical reasons” why the trip cannot go ahead. He expects the pope to be fully recovered in about 10 days. The tour, with its long flights, is about three weeks away.
Margaritora called the pope an ideal patient. On Saturday, his blood tests were normal and his heart function was in order, the surgeon said. The Vatican had first expected a stay of about a week.
The surgery removed the lower lobe of the pope’s right lung, where doctors had found a cancerous nodule. It proved to be adenocarcinoma, the most common type of lung cancer. Doctors are awaiting results of tests on the tumor’s genetic makeup, on whether it has spread and on whether more treatment is needed.
The Vatican press office said on Wednesday that the pope still wishes to make the trip. On Friday, Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin said the pope would decide whether to keep or cancel his trips once he saw how he felt. The surgeon’s remarks are a medical opinion, not that decision.
In Buenos Aires, a source close to President Milei and his sister Karina, the presidency’s secretary general, who coordinates the visit, called it “very important” that the surgeon said it. The presidency also asked for “prudence” and described his words as “a comment in a media outlet.” National and provincial teams continue to prepare with the Argentine bishops’ conference.
The pope is due in Argentina from Nov. 8 to 11, between stops in Uruguay and Peru.
The Vatican announced on Oct. 13 that the pope had lung cancer, and on Oct. 16 that the trip depended on his doctors. The pope will now decide on the tour as he recovers.
