First images from the 10th floor

The latest sign of Pope Leo XIV's health came in photographs published by the Vatican on Friday. They showed the Chicago-born pontiff standing before a makeshift altar in a hospital room on the 10th floor, dressed in a green vestment for the service. He appeared relaxed and in good form, with his private secretary, the Peruvian priest Edgard Rimaycuna, beside him. They were the first images released since he was admitted on Tuesday to Gemelli, north of the Vatican, for the operation on his right lung.

Mass with off-duty staff

According to the Vatican press office, those present at the mass included Gemelli medical and nursing staff who were off duty, along with police officers. The pope thanked the doctors, nurses and orderlies for their service and their closeness to people in fragile conditions, and for the treatment he himself had received in recent days, the press office said.

Doctors report steady improvement

The pope's recovery update from his medical team pointed to steady progress, though key test results are still outstanding:

• •A chest X-ray taken by Thursday showed, in the doctors' words, "good recovery of the operated lung".
• •On Friday, doctors reported a steady improvement in his general condition.
• •He is now carrying out his normal daily activities completely independently, they said.
• •Results of tests to determine whether the cancer has spread are still pending.

Doctors have said his recovery is progressing normally, but ongoing tests will determine the future course of his treatment. The press office gave no discharge date, repeating a doctor's earlier statement that recovery would take about a week. A Vatican source said morale is good, precisely because the pope has been able to celebrate mass.

Sunday Angelus: hospital window or St Peter's?

The pope is expected to lead the Angelus prayer on Sunday, but a Vatican source would not say whether he would appear at the hospital or at the Vatican. The prayer is traditionally recited every Sunday from the window of the Apostolic Palace overlooking St Peter's Square.

Hospital appearances have precedent. On February 6, 2005, the 84-year-old John Paul II, then recovering from flu-related respiratory problems, appeared at the Gemelli window while an aide read the Angelus. On July 11, 2021, Pope Francis, also 84 at the time, delivered the prayer from the hospital window after colon surgery, saying he was glad to keep the Sunday appointment even from there.

Tests will determine the future course of treatment, and the Vatican has not said from where the pope will lead the Angelus on Sunday.