Pope Leo XIV’s Lung Surgery Successful, Vatican Confirms

Vatican City: Pope Leo XIV’s surgery to remove a lung nodule was completed “successfully, on schedule and as planned,” the Vatican said on Tuesday evening, and the 71-year-old pontiff has returned to his room at Rome’s Gemelli hospital.

The Holy See Press Office said in a brief statement that the procedure took place on Tuesday afternoon at the Agostino Gemelli Polyclinic, performed by a team led by the hospital’s chief thoracic surgeon, Dr. Stefano Margaritora. The Vatican promised further information later.

FAKTA

• The outcome: The Vatican said the lung-nodule surgery was completed “successfully, on schedule and as planned”; the Pope has returned to his room.
• The surgeon: The operation was led by Gemelli’s chief thoracic surgeon, Dr. Stefano Margaritora.
• Recovery: The Pope is expected to remain in hospital for about a week; all audiences have been cancelled through October 20.
• The announcement: Leo himself revealed the discovery of the small, localized nodule during his Sunday Angelus, saying doctors had found it at a very early stage.
• First hospitalization: This is the first hospital stay of his 17-month papacy.

Pope Leo lung surgery: what happened on Tuesday

After a quick drive from the Vatican, the Pope arrived at the Gemelli hospital at 1:07 p.m. local time on Tuesday. He walked in through the main entrance, accompanied by his secretaries and personnel from the Papal Household, and waved to dozens of well-wishers who had gathered to greet him. He took time to greet hospital officials and briefly approach several patients, including individuals in wheelchairs.

As the surgery got under way on Tuesday evening, medical staff recited the Rosary prayer in the hospital chapel. “Let us join together in prayer, asking the Lord to sustain our bishop, Pope Leo, and to comfort all those who are hospitalised here,” said the Vicar of Rome, Cardinal Baldassare Reina, at the start of the prayer.

A rare level of transparency

The 71-year-old American pontiff has offered a rare level of transparency about the first publicly disclosed major health problem of his papacy. During his Sunday noon prayer in St. Peter’s Square on October 11, he told the crowd that doctors had found “a localized nodule in my lung” during routine medical examinations, detected “at a very early stage” and “well localized.”

“The doctors believe it is best to intervene, so, following their advice, I have decided to undergo surgery to have it removed,” he said, asking the faithful to keep him in their prayers.

The Vatican has not disclosed whether the nodule is cancerous and has not described the type of surgery in further detail. Oncologists quoted in international media said that even if the nodule were to turn out to be cancerous, the prognosis would be “excellent” given how early it was detected and removed.

What happens next

The Vatican said on Monday that all of the Pope’s audiences were cancelled through October 20 to allow for treatment and recovery, and he is expected to remain in hospital for about a week. Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle will lead the weekly general audience on Wednesday.

Gemelli hospital has a long association with the papacy: it maintains a special papal suite on its 10th floor, established after the 1981 assassination attempt on Pope John Paul II, and Pope Francis spent an extended period there in early 2025 while being treated for pneumonia.

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