Pope Leo XIV Was Diagnosed With Lung Cancer
- 14.10.2026, 7:50
The doctors removed part of the organ.
Pope Leo XIV was diagnosed with lung adenocarcinoma, an advanced form of cancer. During surgery on October 13, surgeons removed the lower lobe of his right lung.
This was reported by Charter97.org, citing the Vatican’s medical bulletin and Reuters.
The lung tumor was discovered during a routine medical examination. On October 13, Leo XIV was admitted to Rome’s Gemelli Hospital, where he underwent surgery. Tissue analyses confirmed what doctors had suspected even during the preparatory phase.
According to the chief surgeon Stefano Margaritoro and the pontiff’s personal physician Luigi Carbone, the surgery lasted about 90 minutes and proceeded without complications. The goal was to completely remove the affected tissue.
“Using a video-assisted technique, the lower lobe of the right lung was removed,” the doctors’ statement said.
After the surgery, the Pope regained consciousness and is resting in his hospital room.
The Vatican did not disclose the size of the tumor or whether the cancer had spread to the lymph nodes. According to experts, the prognosis depends on precisely that.
“Although we have a diagnosis, we do not yet know the stage. This is critically important for the prognosis and treatment,” explained Georgetown University oncologist Steven Liu. According to him, if the tumor is small and has not spread to the lymph nodes, surgery will most likely cure the disease.
Leo XIV will remain in the hospital for about a week; all public events have been canceled until October 20. It is not yet known whether the visit to Uruguay, Argentina, and Peru, scheduled for November 6–17, will take place.
The Pope has no deputy, so while he is ill, the Vatican is operating as usual, and decisions requiring his approval are being postponed.
Leo XIV is 71 years old; the conclave elected him in May 2025. He enjoys sports, particularly tennis; he does not smoke and has had no known health problems to date. The most serious illness of his life was typhoid fever, which he contracted in 1985 while serving as a young priest in Peru.
Since the beginning of his pontificate, Leo XIV has devoted a great deal of attention to the war in Ukraine. As early as May 2025, he was prepared to offer the Vatican as a venue for negotiations between Kyiv and Moscow, and in January 2026, he called on the world to intensify efforts to bring the hostilities to an end.
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