Pope Leo diagnosed with cancer as doctors remove part of lung, Vatican says

• Pope Leo, 71, was diagnosed with lung adenocarcinoma after doctors removed the lower lobe of his right lung during surgery at Rome’s Gemelli hospital.
• The Vatican said the 90-minute operation was successful with no complications, and Leo is waking normally and expected to stay in hospital for about a week.
• His public events are cancelled until Oct 20, and the illness comes as he prepares for a busy papal schedule, including an 11-day South America tour in November.

ROME - Pope Leo was diagnosed with a common form of lung cancer after surgeons removed a part of his right lung on Oct 13, the Vatican said in a medical bulletin, marking a significant health setback for the 71-year-old pontiff.

The pope has lung adenocarcinoma, a common form of cancer, with tissue tests conducted during the operation confirming what doctors had suspected from preparatory examinations, the bulletin said.

He was admitted to Rome’s Gemelli hospital on Oct 13 for surgery to remove the growth that doctors had discovered in a recent routine health check.

The pope’s lead surgeon, Dr Stefano Margaritora, and his personal physician, Dr Luigi Carbone, said in a statement that the procedure lasted about 90 minutes and was successful, with no complications.

“In order to make the procedure curative, the lower lobe of the right lung was removed using a video-assisted technique,” they said, making clear that the aim was to eliminate all cancerous tissue.

Human lungs have five lobes – three in the right lung and two in the left.

A medical expert said that in order to assess the pope’s case they would need to know the size of the tumour and whether the cancer had spread to his lymph nodes, information the Vatican did not immediately provide.

“While we have the diagnosis, we do not yet have the stage. This is critical to prognosis and treatment,” said Dr Stephen Liu, a lung cancer expert at Georgetown University in Washington and division chief of hematology-oncology at MedStar Georgetown University Hospital.

“If this is a small lung cancer with no lymph nodes involved, surgery itself is likely to be curative,” he told Reuters. “But if final analysis reveals a greater extent of cancer involvement, this indicates a poorer prognosis.”

Resting in his hospital room

The pope regained consciousness normally after the operation and later returned to his hospital room, where he was resting, the medical bulletin said.

The Vatican said earlier this week that he was expected to remain in hospital for about a week and all his public events have been cancelled until Oct 20.

Leo left the Vatican ahead of the surgery shortly before 1pm (7pm Singapore time) in Rome and was seen waving from the back of a black SUV as his convoy drove about 9km north of the Vatican to the Gemelli.

Upon arrival at the hospital, Leo shook hands with several officials, walked in front of a waiting crowd of well-wishers, some of whom shouted ‘Auguri’ (best wishes), and headed in via the main entrance.

Leo, elected by the world’s cardinals in May 2025, is relatively young for a Church leader. He enjoys sports, including tennis, and is not known to be a smoker or to have had recent health issues.

The late Pope Francis, Leo’s predecessor, was hospitalised several times as he grew frail in his later years. He died aged 88 in April 2025.

Leo, who spoke in a firm, clear voice at his only public event on Oct 12, keeps a very busy schedule. He is due to make an 11-day tour of Uruguay, Argentina and Peru from Nov 6 to 17, but it was not clear if this trip would still go ahead.

Typhoid fever

The pope is the ultimate earthly authority for the world’s 1.4 billion Catholics and does not have a deputy who steps in when he is sick. When a pope is incapacitated, the business of the Vatican’s vast bureaucracy carries on as usual, holding off on any decisions that require papal approval.

Leo, born in Chicago in 1955 as Robert Prevost, served for decades as a missionary and bishop in Peru before becoming pope. In 1985, when he was a young priest, he came down with typhoid fever in Chulucanas, Peru and was hospitalised.

He recounted the experience in his only major interview given as pope, in a book for Penguin Peru.

Leo said the pain was so bad that he asked God to die rather than continue suffering. He took his survival as a sign from God that “We need you here (on Earth),” he said.

“I never looked back,” said Leo. REUTERS