A Pope at work from the tenth floor
From the Gemelli, Leo XIV resumes activity: Mass, the Substitute, ordinary government. What can and cannot be delegated
The facts. Two days after lung surgery, Leo XIV has resumed work from the Gemelli hospital. According to the Holy See Press Office, today he concelebrated Mass in a room specially set up on the tenth floor, as he had on the afternoon of 14 October, and resumed his work. In the early afternoon he received Archbishop Paolo Rudelli, Substitute for General Affairs of the Secretariat of State: the first working meeting since his admission, as we reported.
The medical bulletin signed by Dr Luigi Carbone and Prof. Stefano Margaritora reports routine checks within normal limits, "good recovery of the operated lung", daily activities carried out independently and physiotherapy with "full motor activity": "Overall, the post-operative course is proceeding regularly".
In today's Bulletin the ordinary work of the Holy See continued: the appointment of Bishop Paolo Andreolli to Ponta de Pedras, the ordination of Bishop Ignatius Ding Zuyao of Haimen, the union «in persona Episcopi» of Cluj-Gherla with Făgăraș and Alba Iulia, and Cardinal Pietro Parolin's meeting with Dominican President Luis Abinader at the Secretariat of State.
Parolin's words. According to ANSA, the Secretary of State said that Sunday's Angelus from the Gemelli "will depend somewhat on how his convalescence goes" and that, "if necessary", the Pope "will reshape his pontificate". On the journey to Uruguay, Argentina and Peru (6-17 November): "If all goes well, if the situation develops as was foreseen at the beginning, the journey will take place", as we reported.
The tenth floor in history. The Gemelli has been linked to the Popes since May 1981, when John Paul II underwent emergency surgery there after the assassination attempt in St Peter's Square. He was admitted several more times over the years, the last in February-March 2005, a few weeks before his death on 2 April 2005. It was he who called the tenth-floor apartment "Vatican Three", after the Apostolic Palace and Castel Gandolfo.
Pope Francis was admitted four times: from 4 to 14 July 2021 for colon surgery; in late March 2023 for bronchitis; from 7 to 16 June 2023 for abdominal surgery; and from 14 February to 23 March 2025 for bilateral pneumonia, the longest stay.
Analysis: what can and cannot be delegated. The ordinary government of the Church runs largely through the Secretariat of State and the Dicasteries, which continue to work: today's appointments show it. The Substitute is the figure who brings current affairs to the Pope and carries back his decisions; that is why the meeting with Archbishop Rudelli is the most concrete sign of recovery. Acts that belong to the Pope as such remain personal: signing appointments and documents, decisions on journeys, convoking consistories. No one can exercise them in his place. The difference from the past lies in timing: a planned operation and a so far regular recovery allow a gradual return, whereas the longer stays of John Paul II and Francis had reduced activity for long periods. As Parolin recalled, the doctors' opinion will shape the next steps.
What we don't know. The topics of the meeting with the Substitute, the date of discharge and the decisions on the 18 October Angelus and the November journey have not been announced.