Pope Leo XIV spent a tranquil night at Rome’s Gemelli hospital after surgery to remove the lower lobe of his right lung and a confirmed diagnosis of lung cancer, the Vatican said in a statement Wednesday.
The Vatican said more information would be provided later in the day.
Tests confirmed lung adenocarcinoma, the Vatican said late Tuesday in a medical bulletin, according to the Associated Press. It said the diagnosis was suspected from preoperative tests and confirmed during surgery.
What We Know So Far
The 71 year old pope was in the operating room for about three hours, the Vatican said. The surgery itself lasted about 90 minutes. “The surgery was successful, and there were no complications,” the statement said. Leo then returned to his room.
The pope’s lead surgeon, Dr. Stefano Margaritora, and personal physician, Dr. Luigi Carbone, said in a joint statement that the entire lower lobe was removed to eliminate all cancerous tissue, Reuters reported. The Vatican press office noted that the bulletin described the removal as “radical,” indicating doctors took all suspect tissue.
The bulletin did not mention further treatment. The Vatican said doctors were not currently talking about chemotherapy or other therapies while results of other tests are pending. Lymph nodes would also have been removed and tested to see whether the cancer spread, but there is no word yet on those results. The Vatican has not disclosed the tumor’s size, Reuters said.
Leo walked into the hospital through the main entrance Tuesday and waved to dozens of well wishers. The Vatican said he will stay in a room near the papal apartment on Gemelli’s 10th floor, which is being renovated. He is expected to stay in the hospital about a week, and all public engagements are canceled through Oct. 20.
What Experts Are Saying
Dr. Stephen Liu, a lung cancer specialist at Georgetown’s Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center who is not involved in the pope’s care, said adenocarcinoma is the most common type of lung cancer and has the most favorable prognosis. “While we know the diagnosis we now need to know the stage,” he said.
Liu said doctors still need to learn the tumor’s size, whether there is more than one nodule, and whether lymph nodes are cancerous. If the cancer has spread, more tests would guide therapy, which could include chemotherapy, chemotherapy with immunotherapy, or targeted pills for specific cancers.
Oncologists said before the operation that even if the nodule proved cancerous, the pope’s prognosis would be “excellent” since it was removed at an early stage, the AP reported.
Differing Accounts
The two outlets described how the problem came to light differently. The AP said the pope himself revealed the discovery of a localized nodule during his Sunday noon prayer and said he would have it removed. Reuters said doctors found a growth during a recent routine health check. On the surgery’s length, the AP gave both the three hours in the operating room and the 90 minutes of surgery, while Reuters reported only the 90 minutes. Neither account conflicts with the other, but they emphasize different details.
Why This Matters
This is the first publicly disclosed major health problem of Leo’s 17 month papacy, and the American pontiff has been unusually open about it, the AP said. He was elected in May 2025. Reuters described him as relatively young for a church leader, said he enjoys sports including tennis, and is not known to be a smoker or to have had recent health issues.
After one lobe is removed, the rest of the lung can gradually compensate, especially in healthy and active people, the AP reported. The right lung has three lobes and the left has two.
The stage of the cancer will shape the next steps, including whether Leo keeps his planned Nov. 6 to 17 trip to Uruguay, Argentina and Peru. Oncologists often advise patients not to fly for three weeks after surgery, which would just fit the schedule. The trip is the longest of his papacy, with just over 31,000 kilometers (19,000 miles) on a dozen flights and two helicopter rides, and a significant altitude change in Peru. “If it is stage 1, he can complete these trips,” Liu said. “If more treatment is needed, I would likely advise against the trips.”
What Happens Next
The Vatican has promised more details later Wednesday. Pathology on the lymph nodes and the staging results will determine whether any further treatment is needed. Audiences remain canceled through Oct. 20, and a decision on the South America trip has not been announced.
Reporting drawn from the Associated Press and Reuters
