Pope Leo XIV to miss annual interdenominational peace meeting to aid recovery after lung cancer surgery

Pope Leo XIV to miss annual interdenominational peace meeting to aid recovery after lung cancer surgery

The Head of the Catholic Church was scheduled to attend the last day of the International Meeting for Peace themed "Unarmed and Disarming Peace", as the Chairman of the community.

The Vatican has announced that Pope Leo XIV will miss the interdenominational "Unarmed and Disarming Peace" meeting scheduled for next week "to aid his recovery" following Tuesday's surgery.

The Head of the Catholic Church was scheduled to attend the last day of the International Meeting for Peace themed "Unarmed and Disarming Peace", as the Chairman of the community.

In a statement issued late Friday morning, the Vatican added that the Pope will instead send a message to express his closeness to the organisers and attendees of the meeting, which marks the 40th anniversary of the World Day of Prayer for Peace that was first convened in the Italian city of Assisi by Pope St. John Paul II.

Additionally, it said that the Pope still believes that dialogue and the search for words and gestures of peace are valuable resources in an age of conflict.

The forum will once again bring together representatives of the major religions, the world of culture, civil society and politics to discuss the most pressing challenges of this time and seek new paths towards dialogue, coexistence and peace.

The Pontiff was operated on Tuesday following his lung cancer diagnosis last week.

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He remains stable and will not require further cancer treatment, his doctors announced on Wednesday.

The Vatican cited the pope's doctors, Dr Luigi Carbone and Professor Stefano Margaritora, as saying the pope's disease was localised and that "no further treatment" was necessary.

The interdenominational meeting is scheduled to take place from October 25 to October 27, 2026, in the city of St Francis, welcoming diverse voices, cultures and religions to renew a message of peace together.

The forum will open with an Inaugural Assembly on the afternoon of Sunday, October 25, at the large UmbriaFiere complex (Bastia Umbria).

The programme will feature forums, meetings and round-table discussions with leading international figures on a range of topics.

Particular attention will be paid to nuclear disarmament and proliferation, in light of growing international tensions.

Organisers indicate that, along with many religious leaders, representatives of the world of culture and institutions totalling 53 countries across different continents and 3,000 registered participants from the general public, a number that is expected to rise will be expected to attend the forum that enters its 40th year, this year bringing different people side by side to pray for peace.