Pope Leo XIV addresses Peru via email after leaving the Gemelli hospital, where he was operated: "A big hug for all"

Pope Leo XIV went to Peru, the country of which he has nationality and where he served as bishop, via an email sent to Cardinal Carlos Castillo, Archbishop of Lima, one day after receiving hospital release in the Gemelli Polyclinic in Rome, where he underwent surgery for a cancerous lung tumor. Castillo revealed the pontiff's response during a mass celebrated last Sunday, after recounting that he had written to him to express the closeness of the Peruvian Church and his wishes for recovery. ADVERTISEMENT "Thank you very much, Carlos. Happy Feast of the Lord of Miracles. Blessings to all faithful devotees. A big hug to everyone. Leo," the pontiff replied, as the cardinal read before those present. The purpurated added that his message sought to convey the support of the Peruvian bishops, priests, and faithful. "At the beginning of the mass, at six in the morning, it occurred to me to write to him. (...) It turns out he had responded. (...) It is simple, small, but he has responded to us," he recounted with laughter. The Pope, 71 years old, left the hospital walking normally, smiling, and greeting patients and the faithful gathered at the main door of the Gemelli and after stopping for a few minutes to talk with a girl and her family, he got into the car that took him to the Vatican. ADVERTISEMENT Before leaving the hospital, Leo XIV celebrated a mass at noon in a room of the area where he had been admitted since Tuesday the 13th, the day he was hospitalized and operated on. The news of the hospital release of the American-Peruvian pope generated great expectation and gathered dozens of faithful at the gates of the health center who joined the numerous media outlets that have followed the operation and recovery of the pontiff from outside the Gemelli. Last Sunday, Leo XIV reappeared on the balcony of the Apostolic Palace of the Vatican to preside over the Angelus prayer, a week after announcing from that same place that he had to undergo an operation for a lung nodule. ADVERTISEMENT Posters, statues, signs, and souvenirs of all kinds, from hats to ice creams, have turned the pontiff into a constant presence in Chiclayo, the Peruvian city where he served as bishop for eight years and who now awaits his return with expectation, scheduled for November. After the removal of a lobe of the right lung by a cancerous tumor, this city on the northern coast of Peru awaits news about the evolution of his health and prays for him to remain in the country, scheduled from November 11th to 16th, as part of his first tour through Latin America, which also includes Uruguay and Argentina. ADVERTISEMENT The affection of the people of Chiclayo has roots in the pastoral work of Robert Prevost, who accompanied the city in difficult times, such as the covid-19 pandemic, when he managed the installation of two oxygen plants, and the floods caused by the El Niño phenomenon, during which he put on rain boots to help in the reconstruction of homes. That closeness fuels the hope of the inhabitants, who trust in the pontiff's speedy recovery and in his return to the city soon.