Pope Leo XIV Diagnosed With Lung Cancer After Successful Surgery

Pope Leo XIV, 71, underwent a 90-minute operation at Rome’s Gemelli Hospital on 13 October during which surgeons removed the lower lobe of his right lung. Intraoperative tests confirmed the growth was lung adenocarcinoma, the most common form of non-small-cell lung cancer.

The Vatican’s medical bulletin, issued by the pope’s personal physician Dr Luigi Carbone and lead surgeon Professor Stefano Margaritora, stated that the procedure used a video-assisted technique and aimed at complete removal of the tumour. The pope was in the operating room for roughly three hours. He awoke normally, spent a short period in observation, and returned to his room on the hospital’s tenth floor. Doctors reported no complications.

Leo himself announced the planned surgery after the Angelus on 11 October. Speaking from the balcony of St Peter’s Square, he said a small, localised nodule had been found during routine checks at an early stage and that doctors had advised removal. The Vatican cancelled all audiences through 20 October to allow recovery.

Pulmonary adenocarcinoma accounts for about 40 per cent of lung cancer cases. It typically grows more slowly than small-cell lung cancer and can appear in both smokers and non-smokers. The pope is not known to have been a smoker. Early detection and surgical removal of a localised lesion generally carry a favourable prognosis, with five-year survival rates often cited between 80 and 98 per cent when the cancer has not spread. Further tests are under way to check for any residual disease or distant spread. The Vatican has not mentioned chemotherapy or other adjuvant treatment at this stage.

Gemelli Hospital has treated successive popes for decades. John Paul II was treated there after the 1981 assassination attempt and on multiple later occasions. Francis spent extended periods in the same institution in his final years. A private suite on the tenth floor has long been reserved for pontiffs. Leo walked into the main entrance earlier on 13 October and waved to well-wishers gathered outside.

This is the first major publicly disclosed health episode of Leo’s 17-month pontificate. The American-born pope has maintained a full schedule until now. The surgical team included Professor Elisa Meacci and doctors Maria Teresa Congedo and Leonardo Petracca Ciavarella, under Margaritora’s direction.

The diagnosis was confirmed by histological examination of the removed tissue during the operation, matching what preoperative scans had indicated. The Vatican stressed that the pontiff had shown no prior symptoms of infection or respiratory illness. Recovery is expected to take about a week in hospital, after which the lungs will adjust to the loss of one lobe. A planned November apostolic visit to South America remains on the calendar for now, though medical clearance will determine whether it proceeds.

Messages of support arrived from Catholic communities and political leaders across continents. The Holy See Press Office said the operation concluded according to plan and that the pope was resting. No public appearance is scheduled before 20 October. The next medical update is expected once additional postoperative scans are complete.

The case illustrates both the transparency the current pontificate has shown on health matters and the technical capacity of modern thoracic surgery for early-stage lung tumours. Whether the removal proves fully curative will depend on the results of the further tests now under way.