Vatican Confirms Pope Leo XIV Has Lung Cancer After Surgery Removes Lower Lung Lobe
Pope Leo XIV has lung cancer, the Vatican confirmed on Tuesday evening, after surgeons removed the lower lobe of his right lung in an operation that revealed a diagnosis of lung adenocarcinoma.
The Holy See Press Office said the surgery was performed at Rome’s Agostino Gemelli University Hospital after preoperative tests had suggested the diagnosis. An intraoperative histological examination confirmed lung adenocarcinoma, the Vatican said in a medical bulletin issued after the operation.
The 71-year-old pontiff was in the operating room for about three hours, while the procedure itself lasted roughly 90 minutes. “The surgery was successful, and there were no complications,” the statement said. The pope regained consciousness normally and later returned to his room on the hospital’s 10th floor.
“Radical” Removal, Tests Still to Come
The Vatican press office noted the bulletin described a “radical” removal of the lobe, an indication that surgeons took out all suspect tissue in an effort to clear any lingering traces of the disease. The pope’s lymph nodes were also removed and will be tested to determine whether the cancer has spread; those results are still pending.
Doctors were not discussing chemotherapy or other therapies pending further tests, the Vatican said. The statement was prepared by Dr. Luigi Carbone, the pope’s personal physician, and Professor Stefano Margaritora, the chief thoracic surgeon who performed the operation using a video-assisted technique.
A Diagnosis He Announced Himself
The American-born pontiff had disclosed the problem himself on Sunday, telling crowds in St. Peter’s Square that doctors had found a small nodule on his lung during a recent health checkup. Detected at a very early stage, he said, the nodule would be removed on his doctors’ advice. “I thank you for your spiritual closeness and I rely on your prayer,” he told the crowd, according to reports.
Outside experts said the development, while serious, carried reason for cautious optimism. Adenocarcinoma is the most common form of lung cancer and carries the most favorable prognosis, said Dr. Stephen Liu, a lung cancer expert at Georgetown’s Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center — though staging details, including the nodule’s size and the lymph-node results, will shape what comes next. The Vatican said further postoperative tests were expected in the coming days.
The news out of Rome quickly became the headline of the day in newsrooms around the world, elbowing aside even the bipartisan backlash over a proposed Pentagon spectacle dominating conversation in Washington. Full details appeared in the Holy See Press Office bulletin, as reported by EWTN Vatican.
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Sources: EWTN Vatican · Associated Press via LA Post · J News Network
