Follow-up: Pope Leo XIV Phones Putin From Hospital to Urge Ceasefire and Aid for Oleshky; First Public Appearance Set for Sunday
Rome — Pope Leo XIV spoke by telephone with Russian President Vladimir Putin on October 16 from Rome's Gemelli Hospital, expressing deep concern over the humanitarian situation in Oleshky, a Russian-occupied city in Ukraine's Kherson region, and calling for a ceasefire to allow food and medical aid to be delivered and civilians to evacuate voluntarily and safely, according to Reuters. The Vatican said it was the second known call between Leo and Putin during his papacy, after one in June 2025.
The Kremlin said in a statement that Putin supported the Vatican's intention to help ease the situation and that the two sides agreed to cooperate. Russia also acknowledged critical problems with food and medical supplies in Oleshky and blamed Ukraine for obstructing deliveries. Danielle Bell, head of the UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine, has said about 1,700 residents remain in the city, including 47 children. Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Holy See's secretary of state, said he hoped Putin would act on the pope's requests.
The same day, the Vatican released the first images of Leo since his October 13 surgery: he celebrated a midday Mass in a makeshift chapel on the hospital's 10th floor with off-duty medical and nursing staff and thanked them for their care of the sick. His personal physician, Dr. Luigi Carbone, and his surgeon, Professor Stefano Margaritora, said blood tests and a chest X-ray that morning confirmed steady improvement, that his post-operative recovery allows him to carry out normal daily activities entirely on his own, and that respiratory physiotherapy is continuing.
The Vatican also confirmed that Leo will lead the Angelus prayer on Sunday, his first public appearance since the surgery. Leo underwent surgery at Gemelli Hospital on October 13 to remove the lower lobe of his right lung, during which lung adenocarcinoma was confirmed. On October 15 he met aides at the hospital as he resumed official business, as GSM has previously reported.
Source: GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 教宗良十四世2026年6月访问西班牙期间在巴塞罗那乘教宗座车向人群致意（资料图）。Photo: Frodlekis, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons / Pope Leo XIV greeting crowds from the popemobile in Barcelona during his June 2026 apostolic visit to Spain (file photo). Photo: Frodlekis, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
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