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Pope Leo diagnosed with lung cancer after surgery to remove part of his lung

The Vatican says the 90-minute operation at Rome's Gemelli hospital went without complications. Audiences are cancelled until 20 October and a November tour of South America is in doubt.

From the editorial desk · RomePublished
Pope Leo XIV and Gemelli hospital, Rome (file photos)
Pope Leo XIV and Gemelli hospital, Rome (file photos)Photos: ⁠Edgar Beltrán, The Pillar / Wikimedia Commons; Blackcat / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0 and CC BY-SA 3.0 it

Key points

  1. Doctors removed the lower lobe of Pope Leo's right lung and found lung adenocarcinoma.
  2. The Vatican said the surgery was successful, with no complications, and no chemotherapy is being discussed for now.
  3. All papal audiences up to 20 October are cancelled while he recovers for about a week.

Pope Leo XIV has lung cancer, the Vatican said on Tuesday, after surgeons in Rome removed the lower lobe of his right lung. A medical bulletin said the 71-year-old pontiff had been diagnosed with lung adenocarcinoma, a diagnosis that tests before the operation had already suggested.

The surgery at the Agostino Gemelli University Hospital lasted 90 minutes. The Vatican said it “was successful, and there were no complications”, and that the Pope was back in his room.

What the doctors found

The Holy See described the removal of the lobe as “radical”, meaning that all the suspect tissue appears to have been taken out. Doctors are not discussing chemotherapy or any other treatment for now, while they wait for the results of further tests.

The operation was carried out by the hospital’s thoracic surgery team, led by Professor Stefano Margaritora. Matteo Bruni, director of the Holy See Press Office, had said on Monday that the nodule was found during routine medical examinations.

The Pope is expected to spend about a week recovering in hospital. All his audiences up to 20 October have been cancelled.

A calm announcement

Leo told the faithful about the growth himself, at the Sunday Angelus in St Peter’s Square. He said a “localized nodule in my lung” had been “detected at a very early stage and is well-localized”. He added: “I have decided to undergo surgery to remove it.”

He held all his scheduled audiences on Monday morning before going into hospital on Tuesday. Catholics gathered outside the Gemelli to pray the Rosary for him, and messages came in from other Churches and from political leaders.

Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Vatican’s Secretary of State, spoke to the Pope on Monday afternoon. “We spoke very calmly. The Holy Father truly is a great example in this regard,” he told reporters on Tuesday morning, before the operation. “I certainly did not expect something like this to happen,” he said, but added: “Normally, when these things are caught in time, they can be resolved.”

This shows how much Pope Leo is loved, appreciated and followed by everyone.

Cardinal Pietro Parolin, Vatican Secretary of State, 13 October 2026

The South America trip

The Pope has no reported history of serious illness and is known to keep active, swimming and playing tennis.

The big question now is his tour of Uruguay, Argentina and Peru, planned for 6 to 17 November. It includes a dozen flights, two helicopter rides and steep changes in altitude in Peru. Leo told reporters on Sunday that he intended to make the journey. The Vatican has not said whether his recovery will change those plans.

The documents