Pope Leo Will Return to His Wednesday Audience a Week After Cancer Surgery. Pray for Him, and for Every Patient He Named.

The facts come first below. My reflection follows in the section marked as opinion.

Pope Leo XIV will hold his weekly general audience in St. Peter's Square on Wednesday, his first since surgery for lung cancer eight days earlier.

The Holy See Press Office confirmed the audience in a health update on Monday, Vatican News reported. The pope had surgery for pulmonary adenocarcinoma on Oct. 13 and was discharged from Rome's Gemelli Hospital on Saturday, Oct. 17, after five days. He will stay at the Vatican to recover this week instead of going to his residence at Castel Gandolfo. His surgeon, Dr. Stefano Margaritora, told Vatican News the recovery period should last around ten days. The Press Office did not say whether the pope will make his usual tour of the crowd in the popemobile.

A surprise at the window

The 71-year-old pontiff's operation removed the lower lobe of his right lung, Reuters reported. His doctors have said the surgery was completed successfully, without complications. They have not disclosed the size of the tumor or whether the disease had spread to nearby lymph nodes, which Reuters noted are key factors in determining prognosis.

Before the surgery, the Vatican had canceled all of the pope's audiences through Tuesday, Oct. 20. But after his early discharge he appeared on Sunday at the window of the Apostolic Palace to lead the Angelus. "I have truly felt your support. Thank you!" he told the crowd, according to Vatican News. He thanked the doctors, nurses and staff at Gemelli and said, "This experience has allowed me to feel, in a particular way, a closeness to all those who are living through illness or a state of infirmity."

"Now that this delicate phase has passed—as you know—I will gradually resume my activities, always with the help of God and your prayers," he said. Some 15,000 people gathered in the square to welcome him, Vatican News reported.

What comes next

The Vatican has given no indication of the pope's schedule beyond Wednesday, Reuters reported. He is due to visit Uruguay, Argentina and Peru from Nov. 6 to 17, and it remains unclear whether that trip will go forward. His lead surgeon has said he could be fully recovered in time, while the Vatican's secretary of state has indicated the pope may need to adjust the pace of his schedule. Vatican News reported that no decision has been announced on his scheduled Oct. 27 visit to Assisi.

Opinion: Pray for him, and for every patient he named

Whatever church you call home, there is something worth noticing in the way this pope has handled his illness. He did not hide it, and he did not use it. He thanked his doctors and nurses, thanked the people who prayed, and turned the attention toward others who are sick. That is a good example for anyone carrying a hard diagnosis.

Christians have a clear instruction here. Paul urged "that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men; For kings, and for all that are in authority." James wrote that "the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up." Protestants and Catholics disagree about the papacy, and those differences are real. They are no reason to withhold prayer from a 71-year-old man recovering from cancer surgery while leading the world's 1.4 billion Catholics.

His own words also point past himself. When he said his illness drew him close to "all those who are living through illness," he was speaking for millions of families sitting in waiting rooms this week. Pray for them too. The Lord told Paul, "my strength is made perfect in weakness." Dock Line wrote earlier this week about a grieving parish in Priest Dies After Crucifix Falls on Him During Mass in Ecuador.