Daniel del Castillo González
This was Pope Leo’s last public appearance before his lung surgery. He appears calm and even cheerful.
The Vatican Press Office reported that the pontiff’s morning meetings would continue as usual, but that he would not participate in the Amoris Laetitia assembly in the Paul VI Hall. It also indicated that the pope would be admitted to Gemelli Hospital on Tuesday, October 13.
He was with the Circle of St. Peter, an organization that has been serving Rome’s most vulnerable for more than 150 years.
POPE LEO XIV
I am grateful to you for the St. Peter’s Pence offering you are presenting today as a sign of your loyalty and devotion to the Holy Father. Your devotion is always with me, for I always carry with me the gift you gave me upon my election, and I thank you sincerely.
That gift has special significance. It is the pectoral cross that Pope Leo XIV received from the Circle of St. Peter on the day of his election. Relics of St. Leo the Great, St. Augustine, St. Thomas of Villanueva, and Blessed Anselmo Polanco were incorporated into it.
The audience was marked by an expression of gratitude: the Pope’s thanks to those who devote their time to caring for the needy. This came one day after he announced that he would undergo surgery to remove a nodule in his lung
