Pope shows steady improvement

Leo celebrates mass at Rome hospital as doctors await tests resultsQ

VATICAN CITY:

Pope Leo XIV's health showed "steady improvement" on Friday, three days after he underwent surgery to remove a cancerous tumour from his right lung, with the 71-year-old pontiff celebrating mass at the Rome hospital where he is recovering.

The Vatican said blood tests and a chest X-ray conducted on Friday confirmed progress in his general condition. The pope was also carrying out his normal daily activities completely independently, according to a statement citing his medical team.

Doctors have described his recovery as normal, with a chest X-ray on Thursday indicating a "good recovery of the operated lung". However, test results to establish whether the cancer has spread are still awaited. These findings will help determine the next course of treatment, the Vatican press office said.

The Vatican released the first photographs of Leo since the operation, showing him standing before a makeshift altar in a room on the 10th floor of Rome's Gemelli hospital, dressed in green vestments. He appeared relaxed, with his private secretary, Peruvian priest Edgard Rimaycuna, standing beside him.

He celebrated mass with medical and nursing staff, along with other people present at the hospital and members of the police who were off duty. He thanked doctors, nurses and other hospital workers for their service, their care for vulnerable people and the attention they had given him during his stay.

Leo is expected to lead the traditional Angelus prayer on Sunday, although it remains unclear whether he will recite it from the hospital or the Vatican. The prayer is normally delivered from a window of the Apostolic Palace overlooking St Peter's Square.

Previous popes have led the Angelus while hospitalised. John Paul II appeared at a hospital window in 2005 while recovering from respiratory problems, while Pope Francis recited the prayer from hospital in 2021 following colon surgery.