BREAKING: Pope Leo XIV Diagnosed With Cancer

Pope Leo XIV is recovering after surgeons removed the lower lobe of his right lung Tuesday in an operation that confirmed a cancer diagnosis, the Vatican said.

The 71-year-old pontiff has canceled all public events until Oct. 20 as he recovers at Rome’s Agostino Gemelli University Policlinic hospital. A Vatican spokesman said Sunday that recovery was expected to take about a week.

“The Holy Father underwent thoracic surgery as scheduled,” Dr. Luigi Carbone and professor Stefano Margaritora said in a statement. “The lower lobe of the right lung was removed using video-assisted surgery.”

Testing of the tissue confirmed pulmonary adenocarcinoma, a common form of lung cancer. The operation lasted about 90 minutes.

The Vatican described the surgery as “successful” and announced Tuesday evening that it had concluded “according to plan.” Leo “has returned to his room,” the statement said.

The cancer diagnosis came two days after Pope Leo XIV revealed his health concern to the crowd gathered in St. Peter’s Square for his Sunday address.

BREAKING: Pope Leo XIV has been diagnosed with lung cancer, after he underwent a surgery to remove the lower lobe of his right lung, the Vatican said Tuesday.

CBS News’ Chris Livesay has more on the Pope’s health, although he says the Vatican has not yet disclosed the stage of the cancer or how long he’ll remain hospitalized.

— CBS News (@CBSNews) October 13, 2026

Doctors had discovered a “nodule” on his lung and advised him to have it removed, Leo told the faithful. He said the growth had been detected “at a very early stage” and was “well-contained.”

The admission marks the first hospital stay of his pontificate.

Before the diagnosis was confirmed, pulmonary and critical care specialist Dr. Matthew Triplette told CNN that patients undergoing surgery to remove lung nodules generally spend a few days in the hospital before continuing their recovery at home.

“These surgeries to remove the nodule are usually minimally invasive with a low rate of complications,” Triplette told CNN before the Pope’s diagnosis was confirmed. “If this is cancer, the outcomes are quite good, with a 5-year disease free survival of (more than) 80% for the earliest stages of non-small cell lung cancer.”

His comments described outcomes for early-stage patients generally, rather than a prognosis specific to Leo.

Gemelli, a private hospital in northwest Rome, has treated generations of popes. Pope Francis spent an extended period there early last year while battling pneumonia.

The hospital maintains a special papal suite on its 10th floor. Pope John Paul II, a frequent patient, famously dubbed it “Vatican three,” after St. Peter’s and the papal residence at Castel Gandolfo.

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