🌙 VATICAN REPORT | Thursday 15 October 2026 debrief

🏥 The Pope returns to work At the Gemelli hospital Leo XIV concelebrated Mass on the tenth floor and resumed his activity: in the afternoon he met Archbishop Paolo Rudelli, Substitute for General Affairs of the Secretariat of State. In the official statement Dr Luigi Carbone and Prof. Stefano Margaritora report that routine checks are within normal limits and that the chest X-ray shows good recovery of the operated lung. The Pope is independent in his daily activities and is doing physiotherapy with full motor activity: "the post-operative course is proceeding regularly". 🌎 Parolin receives the Dominican president At the Secretariat of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin, with Archbishop Paul Richard Gallagher, received the President of the Dominican Republic, Luis Rodolfo Abinader Corona, whose audience with the Pope had been suspended because of the hospitalisation. The talks focused on bilateral relations and the regional situation, from conflicts to transnational organised crime. On the sidelines Parolin suggested that the Pope might lead Sunday's Angelus from the Gemelli if he is better by the end of the week, and said the journey to South America will depend on the doctors' opinion after his discharge. 🎖️ Appointments and the Church in China Bishop Paolo Andreolli, a Xaverian, is the new Bishop of Ponta de Pedras, Brazil. In China, the Bishop of Haimen, Ignatius Ding Zuyao, appointed by the Pope within the framework of the Provisional Agreement, was ordained. 📌 What to watch • New medical updates from the Holy See Press Office • Tomorrow at 7 p.m. the prayer vigil in St Peter's Square • The 18 October Angelus: possibly from the Gemelli, no official decision #LeoXIV #Vatican