Pope Leo XIV appeared at his window above St. Peter's Square on Sunday, a day after leaving the hospital, and told the crowd he would ease back into his duties following surgery for lung cancer.
"I will gradually resume my activities," the 71-year-old pontiff said after leading the Angelus prayer, CBS News reported. He thanked the faithful for praying for him during his hospital stay.
America magazine estimated the crowd at about 20,000. It was his first public appearance since Tuesday's operation, and it came from the same window where, one Sunday earlier, he had revealed that doctors found a nodule on his lung. Sunday also marked the 100th World Mission Day, and Leo, who spent about two decades as a missionary and bishop in Peru, prayed that the church would stay faithful to its mission.
He left Rome's Gemelli hospital Saturday, walking out through the main entrance to a waiting car as well-wishers called out to him, The Associated Press reported. Stefano Margaritora, Gemelli's head of thoracic surgery, walked him to the door. The Vatican had initially expected a stay of about a week and canceled his audiences through Tuesday.
Surgeons removed the lower lobe of his right lung. The operation confirmed adenocarcinoma, the most common type of lung cancer, according to the AP.
Signs of a quick recovery came before he left. On Friday the Vatican released the first photos since the surgery, showing him in green vestments at an altar in the hospital chapel. Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni said Leo led the Mass alone, gave Communion to medical staff and Vatican gendarmes and thanked hospital workers in his homily.
The harder questions are still open. Doctors are waiting on tests that will show the molecular and genetic makeup of the tumor, whether the cancer spread beyond the removed lobe and whether more treatment is needed, the Chicago Sun-Times reported.