#HolySee – Pope Leo XIV was diagnosed with lung adenocarcinoma after doctors removed the lower lobe of his right lung during surgery on Tuesday, the Vatican announced in a medical bulletin. The 71-year-old pontiff underwent the procedure at Rome’s Gemelli Hospital following the discovery of a nodule during routine examinations.
The pope himself revealed the finding during his Sunday Angelus prayer in St. Peter’s Square. He told the crowd that doctors had detected a localized nodule in his lung at “a very early stage” and that it was “well-contained.” He said physicians had advised surgery to remove it, which he had decided to undergo. The pontiff, who is not known to have been a smoker, had reported no symptoms; the growth was identified during a regular health check. There is a history of cancer in his family.
Surgeons led by Professor Stefano Margaritora, chief of thoracic surgery at Gemelli, and the pope’s personal physician, Dr. Luigi Carbone, performed the operation using a video-assisted technique. The procedure itself lasted about 90 minutes, though the pontiff was in the operating room for roughly three hours while doctors awaited tissue-test results. To make the surgery curative, the medical team removed the entire lower lobe of the right lung along with the growth and surrounding tissue. Intraoperative examination confirmed the diagnosis of lung adenocarcinoma, the most common form of lung cancer, as preoperative tests had suggested. The Vatican said the operation was successful and proceeded without complications. The pope awoke normally and returned to his room after a brief period of observation.
On Wednesday, doctors reported that recovery was proceeding as expected. Blood tests and a chest X-ray showed values within the normal range for the type of surgery performed. The pontiff had begun respiratory physiotherapy, started walking in his hospital room, and resumed a regular diet, eating both breakfast and lunch. He was expected to remain hospitalized for about a week, and the Vatican canceled his public audiences through October 20.
Full staging of the cancer—including the precise size of the tumor and whether it had involved lymph nodes or spread—remained pending further pathology results as of Wednesday. Medical experts noted that early-stage, localized adenocarcinoma removed surgically often carries a favorable prognosis, and that complete removal of the affected lobe can be curative when margins are clear and there is no evidence of spread. The Vatican indicated that doctors were not yet discussing chemotherapy or other additional treatments pending those results. The radical nature of the lobe removal was intended to eliminate all suspicious tissue.
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The Holy See continued to issue regular medical updates as recovery continued and further test results were awaited.
Cover Image: Pope Leo providing his Angelus on Sunday where he publicly announced his lung surgery.
