Following the operation, Pope Leo does not require any treatment.

“No further treatment is required.” The Pope’s doctors have reassured everyone that Leone is well, particularly in light of the long-awaited histological report. The news came yesterday evening at the end of a day that had marked Leone’s return to normality, with the general audience in St Peter’s Square, preceded by a tour in the popemobile, despite the bad weather in Rome. The doctors who treated him – Prevost, his personal physician Luigi Carbone, and the surgeon who operated on him at the Policlinico Gemelli, Professor Stefano Margaritora – have announced that “the definitive histological reports and molecular biology tests on the tissue removed during the Holy Father’s surgery have been finalised. The results have confirmed that it was a pulmonary adenocarcinoma and that the disease was localised. A subsequent oncological assessment has confirmed that no further treatment is required”. This positive news confirms the optimism that had already emerged toward the end of the Pontiff’s hospital stay, with his return home coming earlier than expected. The much-anticipated trip to South America, which the Pope is due to undertake in November—visiting Uruguay, Argentina and, above all, Peru, where Prevost lived for twenty years—now seems increasingly likely.

Yesterday, the Pope appeared smiling and, eight days after his lung operation, was keen to return to the crowds for his customary wave-and-greet tour in the Popemobile. The only precaution was the transparent roof on the white car to protect him from the rain. The only reference to the ordeal he had been through came in the first words he spoke in the square: “The first thing I would like to say to you is thank you! Thank you for the support of your prayers. Thank you to God for his generosity. Let us all renew our trust in God’s goodness and mercy.”