Patients and well-wishers gathered at Rome’s Policlinico A. Gemelli hospital on Wednesday to pray for Pope Leo XIV, who is recovering from surgery to remove a cancerous nodule from his right lung. The 71-year-old pontiff, elected in May 2025 as the first American pope, is expected to remain hospitalized for about a week.
Outside the hospital, votive candles, prayer cards, and a statue of Pope John Paul II were adorned with offerings, including a miniature orchid and a plaster cherub. Fernando Ibarra Mendoza, 41, read a prayer for healing while her daughter drew a card for the pope with pink highlighters, saying, “Pope Leo needs our prayer, and the church, and the world, needs Pope Leo.” Mariana Nicula Ancuta, 48, praised the hospital after her own breast cancer treatment, saying she knew the pope was “in the right hands, in the best hands in the world.” Simona Zanfrilli, 45, who had just completed chemotherapy, said she hoped the pope would not endure the same “devastating” treatment and felt a sense of solidarity, noting she was on the same floor as the Holy Father during her session. Giuseppe Antonio Perazzo, 76, reflected that it was “much too soon to re-elect a new Holy Father” and said he was praying for the pope’s recovery, recalling that Pope Francis had also been treated at Gemelli before his death.
Source: New York Times Top Stories · Summarized by HeadlinesBriefing