Pope Leo XIV Cancels Assisi Trip on Medical Advice After Lung Surgery
The Vatican says doctors advised against the planned October 27 helicopter flight to Assisi so the 71-year-old pontiff can continue recovering from surgery to remove a lung adenocarcinoma, though his postoperative course is described as excellent.
Pope Leo XIV has called off his planned visit to Assisi on Tuesday, October 27, acting on medical advice as he continues to recover from surgery last week to remove an adenocarcinoma from his lung, the Holy See said. The Vatican press office said the doctors treating the 71-year-old pontiff considered the helicopter flight scheduled for that date inadvisable given how little time has passed since the operation.
In its statement, the Holy See explained that «given the short time elapsed since the surgery, the treating physicians do not consider the helicopter flight planned for October 27 appropriate.» The decision was announced alongside a routine medical update confirming that the pope's recovery is proceeding well.
That update said the pope underwent a follow-up chest X-ray as scheduled, and the examination confirmed «his excellent postoperative evolution.» The Vatican's official news portal reported the findings, which point to a smooth recovery even as the Assisi engagement has been set aside.
The pope had intended to travel to the Italian hill town for a gathering titled «Undisarmed and Disarming Peace,» held to mark the 40th anniversary of the World Day of Prayer for Peace convened by St. John Paul II. The Assisi meeting brings together leaders and representatives of Christian confessions and other religions, and the pope's presence had been expected to lend weight to its message of dialogue.
Although he will not attend in person, the Holy See said the pontiff will send a message of closeness to the organizers, to the leaders and representatives of the Christian confessions and religions, and to the other guests. The pope remains convinced, according to the statement, that «the spirit of Assisi, dialogue and the search for words and gestures of peace are valuable resources in a time of conflicts.»
The cancellation comes at the end of a week in which the Vatican also disclosed that the pope will not require any further treatment following the successful removal of the lung cancer. Definitive histological examinations confirmed the diagnosis of lung adenocarcinoma, that the disease was localized, and that a subsequent oncological assessment found no additional therapy was necessary.
Leo XIV was operated on October 13 at Rome's Gemelli Polyclinic, two days after announcing during the Angelus prayer that a nodule had been detected in his right lung. The surgery removed the entire lower lobe of the right lung. The pontiff has since returned to his usual schedule, celebrating the Angelus and the general audience in St. Peter's Square, which he crossed in the popemobile.
Meanwhile, the Vatican is pressing ahead with preparations for the pope's next overseas journey, a tour of Latin America set for November 6 to 17 that will take him to Uruguay, Argentina and Peru. The first Latin American trip of his pontificate is a demanding program: up to 14 flights, more than forty speeches and meetings, nine large public Masses, and a visit to Cusco, a city more than 3,000 meters above sea level where a helicopter flight is also planned.
The Assisi cancellation therefore removes one engagement from a crowded calendar rather than signaling a broader setback, with the Vatican presenting the decision as a precaution tied specifically to the short helicopter hop and the brief interval since surgery. For the organizers in Assisi, the pope's written message will have to stand in for his physical presence at an anniversary that recalls one of the most enduring gestures of modern papal diplomacy.
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