Pope Leo XIV, successfully operated on for lung adenocarcinoma, a common type of cancer

Pope Leo XIV has undergone successful surgery for lung adenocarcinoma, in an intervention in which the lower lobe of his right lung was removed using video-assisted surgery, the Vatican press office reported this Tuesday.

It is a common type of lung cancer, according to the Vatican in a medical bulletin. Tuesday's intervention lasted about 90 minutes and was carried out successfully, without complications, according to the Vatican. The Pope has woken up normally and is resting in his hospital room. The Vatican had previously indicated that the pope was expected to spend a week in hospital recovering.

He was admitted to the Gemelli Hospital in Rome at 1:20 p.m. After the Pontiff's arrival at the medical center via Vatican vehicles, the Holy Father reached the entrance of the well-known Popes' hospital on foot after being received by the Gemelli directors.

The Press Office of the Holy See reported that Leo XIV would undergo surgery during "this afternoon." The intervention was carried out by the thoracic surgery team led by Professor Stefano Margaritora.

The Supreme Pontiff has canceled all his audiences until October 20, as reported by the Prefecture of the Pontifical Household.

He was not in the so-called area of ​​​​the apartment reserved for the popes since it is being renovated, but he was admitted to another neighboring area, always on the tenth floor of the Roman hospital.

From today, all attention will return to this hospital, where John Paul II was hospitalized ten times and for that reason in 1996, he even joked saying: "Vatican One is in St. Peter's Square, Vatican Two is in Castel Gandolfo, Vatican Three has become the Gemelli Polyclinic."

Francis and John Paul II have been the only pontiffs who have been treated at the Gemelli, since Benedict XVI was never hospitalized and only visited his admitted brother there. Previously, the pontiffs, in case of illness, had always been treated inside the Vatican, even installing an operating room. And Pius XII, for example, died in the residence of Castel Gandolfo.

The serious attack committed by the Turkish terrorist Ali Agca in St. Peter's Square on May 13, 1981, forced the Vatican to think about the need to have a hospital structure ready at any time for the popes, so a part of the 10th floor of the gigantic Roman hospital, in the north of the city, was reserved.

In the event of hospitalization, a strict security protocol by the Italian Police and the Vatican Gendarmerie is always established on the floor and at the entrance of the hospital.

As in Francis' last hospitalizations, many wonder what happens in the Vatican when a pope is admitted. In reality, the pope is only replaced when the "sede vacant" is declared, that is, the situation that arises when the pontiff dies or resigns.

Even so, a few days before being hospitalized, the pope appointed the new dean of the College of Cardinals, the Filipino Luis Antonio Tagle, who has the task of inviting all the cardinals to Rome for the Conclave and organizing it.