"Now that this delicate phase is behind me, I will gradually resume my activities, always with God's help and your prayers," Leo said, his voice sounding strong four days after the lower lobe of his right lung was removed.
Pope Leo XIV thanked thousands of faithful in St. Peter's Square on Sunday for their prayers while he was hospitalized for an operation to remove a malignant tumor, and said he plans to gradually return to his usual duties.
“This experience has made me feel a special closeness to all those who are battling illness and infirmity,” he said, in his first public appearance since his lung surgery.