Pope continues ‘steady improvement,’ celebrates Mass for hospital staff
October 17, 2026
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CWN Editor's Note: Pope Leo XIV was the principal celebrant of a Mass at Gemelli Hospital on October 16, three days after he underwent lung surgery.
Dr. Luigi Carbone and Professor Stefano Margaritora—the Pope’s personal physician and the head of the surgical team—said in an October 16 statement that the Pope “underwent blood tests and a chest X-ray this morning, which confirmed the steady improvement in his overall condition.”
“Respiratory physiotherapy sessions have continued,” and the Pope’s “postoperative recovery allows him to carry out normal daily activities entirely independently,” the statement continued.
Following the noon Mass, Pope Leo held separate meetings with Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle, one of the two pro-prefects of the Dicastery for Evangelization and dean of the College of Cardinals, and with Cardinal Baldassare Reina, vicar general of His Holiness for the Diocese of Rome.
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