"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.

“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.

© Alessandra Tarantino/Associated Press