VATICAN (OSV News): Pope Leo XIV has cancelled a planned October 27 helicopter trip to Assisi on his doctors’ advice as he continues recovering from lung surgery, the Vatican announced on October 23. His medical team at Rome’s Gemelli hospital reported that a follow-up chest X-ray showed “excellent” progress following the removal of a cancerous lobe from his right lung. Doctors confirmed no further cancer treatment is needed, but recommended avoiding travel as a precaution.
The pope had been scheduled to join Orthodox Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew and international religious leaders at the annual interreligious peace meeting organised by the Community of Sant’Egidio. This year’s gathering marks the 40th anniversary of Pope St. John Paul II’s historic 1986 World Day of Prayer for Peace.
Although he cannot travel, the Vatican said Pope Leo would send a message “to the organisers, leaders and representatives of Christian denominations and religions,” as well as to those attending the meeting. The pope’s message will emphasise his conviction that “the ‘Spirit of Assisi,’ dialogue and the search for words and gestures of peace are precious resources in an age of conflict,” the Vatican said.
