Pope Leo returns to the Vatican 4 days after lung cancer surgery

VATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Leo returned to the Vatican on Saturday, four days after undergoing surgery for lung cancer at Rome’s Gemelli hospital, where dozens of well-wishers saw him off with cries of “Holiness.”“I am much better, thank you,” the pope said when asked how he was as he was driven away in a black SUV.Leo, 71, greeted patients inside the hospital alongside his surgeon, Dr. Stefano Margaritora, before waving to well-wishers outside as he walked to a waiting vehicle.He paused when a 13-year-old Ukrainian girl presented him with a homemade papal doll that she said had helped her through successful cancer treatment. She had briefly met Leo at an audience in St. Peter’s Square last December—an encounter she told reporters “gave her the strength to overcome the illness.”Ten minutes after driving away from the hospital, the pope entered the gates of the Vatican. He is set to resume some duties on Sunday, when he greets the faithful with the traditional Angelus blessing, exactly on