Pope Leo had lobe of lung removed as doctors found cancer

The Pope has lung cancer and had the lower lobe of his right lung removed during surgery in Rome, the Vatican has said.

The tests confirmed a diagnosis of lung adenocarcinoma, the Vatican said in a medical bulletin, after Leo XIV had an operation earlier today.

It said the diagnosis had been suspected by preoperative tests and was confirmed during the operation.

The 71-year-old was in the operating theatre for about three hours, the statement said.

The surgery itself lasted approximately 90 minutes.

"The surgery was successful, and there were no complications," the statement added.

Pope Leo returned to his room after the surgery at Rome's Gemelli hospital, according to a statement from the Vatican spokesman.

He had walked into the hospital through the main entrance earlier in the day and waved to dozens of well-wishers who had gathered to greet him.

The Vatican said the surgery would be performed by a team led by Gemelli's chief thoracic surgeon, Dr Stefano Margaritora.

The operation got under way as 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.

The American pontiff has offered a rare level of transparency about the first publicly disclosed major health problem of his 17-month papacy.

He revealed the discovery of the small, localised nodule during his Sunday noon prayer and announced that he would have it removed.

Before the confirmation of the lung cancer, oncologists said Leo's prognosis is "excellent" since the nodule will have been removed at an early stage.

The surgery, which is usually performed under general anaesthesia, requires a weeklong hospital stay and yesterday the Vatican cancelled all Leo's audiences through until 20 October.

"These are things that can be treated very well, if the words he used reflect the clinical situation," said Dr Lorenzo Spaggiari, director of thoracic surgery at the European Institute of Oncology, or EIO, in Milan, who is not involved in the pope's care but knows the team at Gemelli.

While Gemelli has a specific papal apartment that past popes have used, complete with a private chapel on the 10th floor, Leo is staying in a nearby room since the papal apartment is currently undergoing renovations, according to the Vatican press office.

The nodule was discovered during regular checks, the Vatican has said.

EIO advises patients not to fly for three weeks after surgery - which would give the pope just the interval needed to make his planned 6-17 November trip to Uruguay, Argentina and Peru, depending on his recovery.

The current itinerary for the trip is ambitious and the longest of his papacy to date, calling for Leo to clock just over 31,000 kilometres on a dozen flights and two helicopter rides, and a significant altitude change in Peru.