Less than 24 hours after leaving hospital, Pope Leo XIV was back at the window of the Apostolic Palace on Sunday, leading the Angelus before thousands of pilgrims in St Peter’s Square in his first public appearance since lung-cancer surgery. Appearing unaided and speaking in a firm, clear voice, the 71-year-old pontiff thanked the crowd for prayers he said had sustained him through “this delicate phase.”
“I would like to thank all those who have prayed for me in recent days. I have truly sensed your support,” he said, singling out the doctors, nurses and staff at Rome’s Gemelli Hospital, where surgeons removed the lower lobe of his right lung on October 13. He said the experience had made him feel “particularly close to all those who are living with illness or infirmity,” and told the faithful he would now gradually resume his activities “with the help of God and your prayers.” The Holy See had previously cancelled his audiences through October 20; no timetable for a full return was announced.
“Render to Caesar” — and a call to truthfulness
Before the prayer, the Pope reflected on one of the Gospel’s best-known passages — “Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s” — saying Christ’s answer to a trap question about taxes “exposes the hypocrisy of those who seek to put him to the test.” The call, he said, is “to be truthful, free from servile fear or hypocrisy, free to do good” — words that landed with visible weight from a man speaking five days after a cancer operation.
A square holds its breath, then cheers
Thousands gathered on a cloudy Sunday morning to greet a pope many had feared for. When he waved from the window, the square erupted; one pilgrim from Siena, Ylenia Casati, 32, said she nearly wept: “It was so wonderful to see him again.” The Vatican said the Pope’s mood was good, that he had received letters and drawings from children, and that he had already celebrated Mass and given Communion. For the world’s 1.4 billion Catholics, the image of the week was not a hospital bulletin but a wave from a familiar window.
