Pope Leo XIV has been diagnosed with lung adenocarcinoma after a successful 90-minute surgery at Rome's Gemelli Hospital, where surgeons removed the lower lobe of his right lung. The Vatican says the operation had no complications.
Pope Leo XIV has been diagnosed with lung cancer following a 90-minute operation at Rome's Gemelli Hospital on Tuesday, the Vatican said, announcing that surgeons removed the lower lobe of the pontiff's right lung.
The 71-year-old was found to have lung adenocarcinoma, a form of cancer that develops in the cells lining certain internal organs, after a histological examination during the procedure confirmed what pre-operative tests had suspected.
The surgery, performed by the hospital's thoracic team led by Dr. Stefano Margaritora, was carried out with the assistance of a thoracoscope. The Vatican said the whole lower lobe of the right lung was removed "to ensure the procedure was radical" — a common approach in cancer surgery that also removes surrounding tissue and lymph nodes that may harbour the disease.
"The procedure was successful, and there were no complications," the Vatican press office said in a communique released late Tuesday. "After the operation, the Pope awoke normally and returned after a brief period of observation to his room."
Detected at an early stage
Pope Leo himself disclosed the operation to the public on Sunday, speaking from the balcony in St Peter's Square after delivering the traditional Angelus blessing. He told the faithful that doctors had found a small, localised nodule in his lung that was "contained" and detected "at a very early stage", and that he had been advised to have it removed.
The Vatican has stressed that the pontiff, who is generally regarded as fit, showed no symptoms of illness or infection before the nodule was found during what it described as routine checks. He is expected to remain in hospital for about a week, and all audiences and public events have been cancelled until 20 October.
A Vatican source told Agence France-Presse that further tests were being carried out to determine whether there was any sign the cancer had spread. Early post-operative examinations were expected to be ready by late Wednesday. Similar nodules are common and not necessarily malignant, though in this case the pre-operative tests had pointed to adenocarcinoma.
Reaction in Rome and beyond
The diagnosis has unsettled Catholics worldwide, arriving without warning for a pontiff elected only recently. Outside Gemelli — a hospital that has treated several popes and is home to a large statue of John Paul II — the faithful gathered to pray as news filtered out.
"Am I worried? Yes, because I certainly wasn't expecting anything like this," Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin told journalists. He described the news as a "bolt from the blue" but said the cardinals had been struck by the Pope's "serenity" and were confident in his recovery.
Cardinal Tarcisius Isao Kikuchi of Tokyo, who met the Pope on Monday, told the Italian daily La Repubblica that the pontiff had felt "nothing wrong" physically and had chosen to check into hospital quickly because of a planned trip to Latin America in early November. The Pope, he said, was keen to keep to the schedule.
The Vatican's own timeline underscores the speed of the decision: the Pope announced the operation on Sunday and underwent surgery on Tuesday. Masses were celebrated for him in several countries, including at his home city of Chicago and in Chiclayo, Peru, where he served as a bishop.
What happens next
The 6–17 November trip to Uruguay, Argentina and Peru now carries added significance, and its status will depend on the Pope's recovery and the results of further testing. The visit to Peru is particularly personal for a pontiff who spent years there as a missionary and bishop.
Gloobeam will update this story as the Vatican releases post-operative examination results and as any further guidance on the Pope's schedule emerges. Until then, the central facts are these: the cancer was found early, the surgery was reported as successful and free of complications, and the Pope is recovering at Gemelli.