Vatican City; October 2026: Pope Leo IV has been discharged from Gemelli Hospital after being admitted for four days. After necessary blood analysis and chest X-rays were performed today, the medical team have issued the discharge advice stating, "the Holy Father has been deemed fit to be discharged".
The Holy See’s office in a release a few while ago has asserted that, "Tomorrow he will recite the Angelus from the window of the papal apartment".
On Tuesday (October 13th), the pope underwent a successful procedure that discovered a malignant tumor in his right lung and removed its lower lobe. Doctors said there were no complications in the procedure, but further tests are needed to determine if the cancer had spread into his lymph nodes or other parts of his body. The Vatican has not disclosed the status of those tests.
Leo had not been seen in public since he walked into Rome's Gemelli hospital four days ago, waving to well-wishers and TV camera crews before undergoing his operation later that afternoon. The Vatican on October 16th have published the first photos of Leo since his hospitalisation, which show him standing and celebrating Mass in the hospital.
The pope's schedule earlier had been poned till October 20, to allow for a full week of recovery, but he was already back at work just two days after his minimally invasive operation, meeting with top aides at the hospital.
Earlier, on 17th October, the Holy Father had spoken over telephone with Russian President Vladimir Putin to express his concern over the humanitarian situation in Oleshky, Ukraine, where some 2,000 civilians have had no access to food supplies amid ongoing fighting in the area. On the call, initiated by the Holy See, Leo "called for a ceasefire to allow the delivery of food and medical assistance, and the voluntary and safe evacuation of the civilian population", the Vatican said.
Leo's hospital dismissal falls within the timeline provided by Doctor Alexis Chidi, a thoracic surgeon at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York, who had reiterated that after his operation that her patients who undergo the same procedure as the pope's typically remain in the hospital two to four days for recovery. Doctor Chidi also said that some of her patients with "high-powered jobs" are able to work from the hospital during that time, but that it could take six to eight weeks before they truly feel like themselves again.
Previous popes have appeared from the balcony of the Gemelli hospital during their hospital stays for their customary Sunday address, but the 71-year-old Leo's return to the Apostolic Palace ahead of that public appointment marks a return to normalcy after the pope's hospitalisation.
The looming question, however, is whether the pope's 11-day trip to Latin America in early November, involving 12 flights and stops at high-altitude destinations, will proceed as planned. The Vatican published the list of journalists accredited for the trip the day before the pope was due to leave the hospital, a move that could be read as a sign that the trip remains on track.
Team Maverick.
