PROVIDENCE — As Pope Leo XIV underwent surgery last week to remove a cancerous nodule from his right lung, faithful from around the world prayed for a complete and speedy recovery, including those in the Diocese of Providence, where Bishop Bruce A. Lewandowski, C.Ss.R., said he joined the people of the diocese “and all people of good will in praying for the health and speedy recovery of the Holy Father.”
“At every Catholic Mass, the Holy Father is prayed for by name in the Liturgy of the Eucharist, and many Masses and prayers across Rhode Island—and indeed across the world—are being offered for the intention of Pope Leo XIV’s health,” the bishop said in a statement.
Diane Cote-Travisano, who participated in this weekend’s Wedding Anniversary Mass at the cathedral, said she has been actively following the news on the pope’s condition and has been praying for him.
“I liked that he was so honest and open about his health,” she said.
“I appreciated that, so that he could have his people pray for him and raise him up. Pope Leo mentored real deep faith because he showed that there’s a connection between being very ill and offering that in prayer for all of us, which is what he did, and that moved me because when my father had cancer, I kept the list of the people he offered his suffering for, and he read every papal encyclical.”
Cote-Travisano, a certified peer recovery specialist and community health worker, said she feels a real connection to Pope Leo, whom she described as modern and understanding.
“As someone that works with the unhoused population, I feel that we desperately need that in this church, a shepherd to open the hearts of people to understand the true compassion needed to fight addiction and mental health issues that are pervasive and persistent.”
Meanwhile, Mary Lee Martorelli of Warwick, wrote on diocesan social media that she was “praying for complete recovery” following Pope Leo’s surgery Oct. 13 at Rome’s Gemelli Hospital, where doctors removed the pope’s lower right lobe of his lung.
Kathie Burnside Marsland of Johnston wrote that she was “Sending lots of prayers for a full recovery.”
On Sunday, Oct. 18, one week after the Holy Father announced that he would be undergoing surgery just two days later, he once again appeared at the open window of the Vatican’s Apostolic Palace, where he offered his thanks to Catholics around the globe for their prayers, and his gratitude to all the doctors, nurses and staff who oversaw his care.
“I would like to thank all those who have prayed for me in recent days. I have truly sensed your support,” the pope said after leading the crowd in St. Peter’s Square in the prayer of the Angelus.
“This experience has made me feel particularly close to all those who are living with illness or infirmity. Now that I have overcome this delicate phase, as you know, I will gradually resume my activities, always with God’s help and your prayers,” he added.
Thousands of people in St. Peter’s Square on the cloudy Sunday cheered loudly when the pope waved from the window of his papal apartment less than 24 hours after his hospital discharge.
Dr. Stefano Margaritora, the lead surgeon for Pope Leo’s 90-minute lung cancer operation on Oct. 13, said in an interview with Vatican News on the day of his hospital discharge that he saw no clinical reason to cancel the pope’s planned trip to South America.
“As for a long trip involving air travel in about three weeks, I would say there are no clinical reasons why it should not take place,” Margaritora said, indicating that he believed from a medical standpoint that Pope Leo could be ready to undertake the demanding visit to Latin America scheduled for Nov. 6-17.
Margaritora, who is the chief thoracic surgeon at Gemelli Hospital, described Pope Leo as “an ideal patient.”
“He was always serene, always smiling, and rarely complained, despite the pain a person inevitably feels, even with all the measures we take,” he said.
The doctor also shared a story of how Pope Leo offered a helping hand moving chairs in the chapel so that he could celebrate Mass two days after his cancer surgery.
“On the second day after the operation, we turned around and found him arranging the chairs in the chapel himself. We said, ‘Holy Father, we can do that.’ And he replied, ‘It doesn’t matter. I can do it, so I will.’ What can I say? He really was an absolutely ideal patient,” Margaritora said.
With reports by Courtney Mares, OSV News.
