VATICAN CITY, Holy See (AFP)—Pope Leo XIV addressed thousands of people in St Peter’s Square on Sunday, smiling and saying he would resume work “gradually” in his first major public appearance since undergoing lung cancer surgery.

The 71-year-old pope had part of his right lung removed in the surgery on Tuesday at Rome’s Gemelli hospital and he was discharged on Saturday.

“I would like to thank all the people who have been praying for me in these days,” the leader of the world’s 1.4 billion Catholics told the crowd.

“Having overcome this delicate phase, as you know I will now gradually resume my activities,” said the pope, who looked well and spoke normally.

A chorus of “Viva il papa!” (Hooray for the pope!) had reverberated across the square as he appeared at the window of his Apostolic Palace for his traditional Angelus prayer and address.

People in the square welcomed the pope’s speedy return.

Christopher Butler, 68, a parish priest from Leeds in northern England called Leo a “great shepherd for the Catholic Church”.

“I’m concerned he needs to take time to make a full recovery but he’s obviously a very resilient man and keen to return to work, to lead the Church and to be a world leader,” Butler said.

Soledad Espinosa, 59, from Ecuador, said she was happy to hear that the pope would be allowed by his doctors to visit Latin America next month.

“We are all hoping for his recovery and that he has gotten through the situation well. We know that he is ok and we’re pleased,” she said.

Norma Grasso, 76, from Argentina, said: “We are waiting for him”.

Following the surgery, there had been doubts about a planned papal voyage scheduled for November 6-17, to Uruguay, Argentina and Peru, where Leo spent two decades as a missionary.

But his surgeon, Stefano Margaritora, told Vatican News he believed there were “no clinical reasons why the trip should not go ahead”.

– ‘Absolutely satisfactory’ –

The pope’s discharge on Saturday capped days of uncertainty that rattled the Vatican and the world’s Catholics, less than two years into the Chicago-born pope’s papacy.

Margaritora said Leo was in “absolutely satisfactory clinical condition,” estimating another ten days before he is fully recovered.

Margaritora told Vatican News that Leo’s tumour had been discovered by chance, during a routine abdominal X-ray that captured the “little spot” at the base of his right lung.

While calling the lung operation “routine”, he saluted the pope’s commitment to his recovery, saying he “really put his heart and soul into it, like the most motivated patients”.

“His determination to achieve a very quick and very effective recovery from every point of view was really commendable,” Margaritora said.

The results of tests to determine whether the cancer has spread are still pending.

Leo has resumed some work, making a call on Friday to Russian President Vladimir Putin to urge a ceasefire in the Russian-occupied Ukrainian city of Oleshky.