Pope makes first major public appearance since lung cancer surgery.

Updated by Faith Barbara N Ruhinda at 1053 EAT on Monday 19 October 2026

Pope Leo XIV has thanked about 15,000 Catholic faithful who gathered in St Peter’s Square for his Sunday address, marking his first major public appearance since undergoing lung cancer surgery.

“Now that this delicate phase is behind me, I will gradually resume my activities, always with God’s help and your prayers,” Leo said.

The 71-year-old pontiff addressed the crowd from a window overlooking St Peter’s Square at the Vatican. A week earlier, during the traditional Angelus blessing, he had revealed that doctors had found a nodule in his lung that would require surgical removal.

The operation confirmed that he had adenocarcinoma, the most common type of lung cancer.

Tests to determine whether the cancer has spread are still pending.

Leo said his experience over the past week “has made me feel especially close to those facing illness and infirmity”.

He told the crowd that he had “truly felt your support” and expressed “particular gratitude to the doctors, nurses and all the staff at Gemelli Hospital” in Rome, where he received treatment.

The pope paused briefly to wave to the crowd before returning to his apartment in the Apostolic Palace.

A delegation from Africa, in Rome for a Catholic meeting, danced and ululated after the pope’s blessing.

“He was always in our prayers when he was sick, and we are happy to see him today,″ Alain Kalembu of the Democratic Republic of the Congo said. “This is an expression of our joy.”

There had been uncertainty over whether a planned papal visit to Uruguay, Argentina and Peru in November would go ahead.

The Vatican’s Secretary of State, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, told journalists on Friday that the pope might need to adjust the pace of his schedule “according to the condition of his health”.

However, Leo’s surgeon, Stefano Margaritora, told Vatican News that he believed there were “no clinical reasons why the trip should not go ahead”.

Latin Americans gathered in St Peter’s Square welcomed the news.

“We are all hoping for his recovery, and that he has gotten through the situation well. We know that he is OK, and we’re pleased,” said Soledad Espinosa from Ecuador.

-Aljazeera

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