Peter’s Square, the Vatican announced. Pope Leo XIV is being released from the hospital on Saturday (October 17, 2026), four days after lung cancer surgery, and will deliver the traditional noon blessing on Sunday (October 18, 2026) from a window overlooking St.
The surgery confirmed he had adenocarcinoma, the most common type of lung cancer. And oncology surgeons say protocols generally clear patients to fly after three weeks, as long as recovery allows. Doctors are still awaiting the results of tests to understand the precise molecular and genetic makeup of the cancer, whether it has spread beyond the lobe and whether any further treatment is necessary.
The 71-year-old Pope Leo had the lower lobe of his right lung removed after doctors identified a suspected cancerous nodule. Since the surgery on Tuesday (October 13, 2026) that confirmed the cancer diagnosis, Pope Leo has given strong indications that he was recovering well, including holding a phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin, meeting with top aides and celebrating Mass in a hospital chapel. The Vatican on Friday (October 16, 2026) released the first images of Pope Leo since his lung cancer surgery, showing him standing up at an altar in a hospital chapel in green vestments, as doctors said that tests confirmed his “continued improvement. The Vatican has given signs of all-systems go, publishing the names of journalists accredited to fly on Pope Leo’s plane on Friday (October 16, 2026).
His personal physician and surgeon said in a separate statement that Pope Leo was “deemed fit for discharge from the hospital” based on blood test results and a chest X-ray performed on Saturday (October 18, 2026) morning, along with an assessment of his clinical condition.
