Pope Leo XIV’s Right Lung Lobe Removed After Doctors Find Cancer, Vatican Says
The Vatican said Tuesday that surgeons removed the lower lobe of Pope Leo XIV's right lung, where they found a common form of lung cancer. The 71-year-old pontiff is recovering at Rome's Gemelli hospital and has cancelled public events until October 20.
ROME — Pope Leo XIV is recovering in a Rome hospital after surgeons removed the lower lobe of his right lung on Tuesday, the Vatican said, confirming the growth found on the pontiff’s lung was a common form of lung cancer.
The operation at the Agostino Gemelli University Policlinic hospital in northwest Rome lasted about 90 minutes, the Vatican said. According to a statement from the surgical team, doctors removed the lobe using video-assisted surgery and the procedure concluded as planned. A later examination of the removed tissue revealed signs of pulmonary adenocarcinoma, a common type of lung cancer.
The 71-year-old pontiff told a crowd in St. Peter’s Square on Sunday that doctors had discovered a “nodule” on his lung during routine tests. Leo said the growth had been caught at a very early stage and was contained. On Tuesday evening, the Vatican said the pope “has returned to his room” and has cancelled all public events until October 20.
Doctors say the surgery is routine
Physicians not involved in the operation described the procedure as minimally invasive with a low rate of complications. Dr. Matthew Triplette, medical director of the Lung Cancer Screening Program at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center in Seattle, told CNN earlier this week that patients normally stay in the hospital for a few days and then continue their recovery at home. He said the five-year disease-free survival rate is above 80 percent for the earliest stages of non-small cell lung cancer.
The Vatican said Leo will need about a week to recover. Day-to-day operations at the Vatican will continue as normal, though anything that requires the pope’s signature will have to wait. The Vatican has no formal rules for transferring leadership if a pope is incapacitated, and Leo retains full papal authority while recovering.
Prayers from around the world
Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin told Italian media on Tuesday that Catholic clergy everywhere were praying for the pope’s health. Parolin said the need for surgery had come as a surprise, adding that he had seen Leo on Monday evening. “Am I worried? Yes, because I certainly didn’t expect something like this,” he said.
Pilgrims in Rome said they were thinking of the pontiff. Paul Kavulich, who was visiting the city on a pilgrimage with his daughter and comes from the pope’s hometown of Chicago, said he hoped the procedure would go well: “And he’s got God with him — no doubt about that.”
The Vatican press office said the growth was discovered during routine tests. Leo is not known to have any underlying health problems and keeps an active routine of tennis and swimming. He kept his full schedule on Monday, holding meetings in the morning before joining a gathering of bishops and church leaders. The hospital stay this week is his first since becoming pope.
Reporting based on coverage by CNN.
