Cancer Confirmed for Pope After Surgery, Vatican says

Pope Leo XIV is recovering after a “successful” surgery to remove a part of his lung which was found to have a cancerous growth, the Vatican said in a statement.

The pontiff “has returned to his room” following the surgery that went according to plan,” per the Vatican.

“The Holy Father underwent thoracic surgery as scheduled,” said Dr. Luigi Carbone and Professor Stefano Margaritora in a statement after the surgery ended. “To make the procedure more radical, the lower lobe of the right lung was removed using video-assisted surgery.”

Upon further examination, it was discovered the lobe had pulomonary adenocarcinoma, a common type of lung cancer, they said.

The surgery took place Tuesday afternoon at the Agostino Gemelli University Policlinic hospital in northwest Rome. The hospital stay this week is the first of his pontificate.

The 71-year-old pontiff told the crowd gathered in St. Peter’s Square on Sunday that doctors had discovered a “nodule” on his lung, which he had been advised to have removed.

A nodule is a mass of dense tissue that is often benign. Leo said on Sunday that the growth had been detected “at a very early stage” and was “well-contained.”