Pope Leo returns to Vatican after lung cancer surgery

The Pope has left Rome's Gemelli hospital four days after undergoing surgery for lung cancer, and returned to the Vatican.

Dozens of well wishers greeted Leo XIV as he walked out of the hospital and into a waiting vehicle.

"I am better, thank you," the pope said when asked how he was as he was driven away in a black SUV.

The 71-year-old pontiff had the lower lobe of his right lung removed after doctors identified a suspected cancerous nodule.

The surgery confirmed he had adenocarcinoma, the most common type of lung cancer.

His surgeon, Dr Stefano Margaritora, head of thoracic surgery at Gemelli, accompanied him to the hospital door as he was formally discharged.

He briefly stopped when a teenage girl presented him with a homemade papal doll.

Ten minutes after leaving the hospital, the pope entered the Vatican gates.

The Vatican announced that Pope Leo will also deliver the traditional Sunday blessing from a window overlooking St Peter's Square tomorrow, one week after he announced to the crowd that a nodule had been discovered in his lung.

His personal physician and surgeon said in a separate statement that he was "deemed fit for discharge from the hospital" based on blood test results and a chest X-ray performed this morning along with an assessment of his clinical condition.

With notable transparency, Pope Leo announced last Sunday to the faithful gathered in St Peter's Square that doctors had identified a nodule on his lung, and that it would be removed.

Since the surgery on Tuesday that confirmed the cancer diagnosis, the pope has given strong indications that he was recovering well, including by holding a phone call with Russian president Vladimir Putin, meeting with top aides and celebrating Mass in a makeshift hospital chapel.

Medical bulletins from his personal physician and surgeon likewise indicated a good post-operative recovery that had allowed him to carry on "normal daily activities completely on his own".

Yesterday, the Vatican released the first images of Pope Leo since his surgery, showing him standing up at an altar in a hospital chapel in green vestments, as doctors said that tests confirmed his "continued improvement".

The Pope's next big agenda item is a trip to Latin America from 6 November to 17 November, which gives him three more weeks of recovery before taking on the ambitious journey that includes a dozen flights and two helicopter trips.

The Vatican has given signs of all-systems go, publishing the names of journalists accredited to fly on the pope's plane yesterday.

Oncology surgeons say protocols generally clear patients to fly after three weeks, as long as recovery allows.

Doctors are still awaiting the results of tests to understand the precise molecular and genetic makeup of Pope Leo's cancer, whether it has spread beyond the lobe and whether any further treatment is necessary.