Pope Leo greets about 15,000 people in St Peter's Square in his first appearance since lung surgery

20 October 2026

Pope Leo, 71, appeared at a window of the Apostolic Palace at the Vatican on Sunday 18 October 2026 and greeted about 15,000 people in St Peter's Square. It was his first public event after an operation the previous Tuesday to remove the lower lobe of his right lung, for lung adenocarcinoma. He had been discharged from the Gemelli hospital in Rome on the Saturday. He came to the window unaided and kept his regular weekly noon appointment, saying he would now gradually resume his activities. He thanked people around the world for their prayers and urged pilgrims to serve God without compromise. He is in the seventeenth month of his papacy and leads a Church of 1.4 billion members.