Pope Leo XIV has been discharged from the hospital on Saturday, October 17, which comes just days after he underwent lung cancer surgery.
According to CNN, Leo “walked out of the hospital unaided,” taking the time to greet those outside, which included a 13-year-old Ukrainian girl who handed him a stuffed toy as a get-well gift.
“I am much better, thank you,” he said in English to a journalist, per the New York Times.
He was first admitted to Gemelli Hospital on Tuesday and successfully underwent surgery to remove a nodule that was determined to be pulmonary adenocarcinoma, which is the most common form of lung cancer.
He was allowed to leave the hospital after a series of blood tests and an X-ray.
“In light of the blood tests and chest X-ray performance this morning, and following an assessment of his clinical condition, the Holy Father has been deemed fit for discharge,” a statement by the Vatican read.
And with that, Leo is expected to do the traditional Sunday blessing from a window overlooking St. Peter’s Square on Sunday. That will mark one week from when he announced he needed surgery.
Pope Leo XIV Is Set To Travel To Latin America Next Month
Leo is scheduled to make a trip to Latin America from November 6 to 17, including stops in Uruguay and Argentina, as well as Peru, which is where he served as a missionary and bishop for years.
Those travel plans have not been confirmed as of now.
“We need to see how the Pope feels once he is discharged—what his state of health is—and based on that, he will decide whether to keep or cancel his trips,” Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Holy See Secretary of State, told reporters Friday, per CNN.
Pope Leo XIV Was Chosen Last Year
Leo was elected in 2025 at the age of 69, taking over for Pope Francis, who was 76 when he was first elected in 2013 and passed away after a long hospitalization for double pneumonia.
Many say Leo’s age played a large factor in why he was chosen, as he would “be around long enough to stabilize and unify the church after Francis’ turbulent pontificate, and get the Vatican’s finances, in particular, into order,” according to the Associated Press.
“It’s a big question mark on the investment that many people have made on this pontificate: an emotional investment, a political investment, even a financial investment,” Massimo Faggioli, a theologian at Leo’s alma mater, Villanova University in Pennsylvania, told the outlet.
However, the good news surrounding Leo’s diagnosis is that oncologists say his type of lung cancer has a high cure rate.
Pope Leo XIV Discharged From Hospital After Surgery For Lung Cancer