Everyone in the Vatican had hoped that people would no longer have to deal with illnesses. But now Leo XIV, like his predecessor Francis, is in the clinic. Nobody knows what will happen next.
Rome. Only a year and a half after the death of Pope Francis, the Catholic Church has to worry about its leader again: Pope Leo XIV is suffering from cancer. The 71-year-old had a malignant tumor removed from his right lung in a lengthy operation at the Gemelli Hospital in Rome. The head of 1.4 billion Catholics worldwide is now expected to remain in the hospital until next week. It is still unclear whether he has gotten rid of the cancer or needs further treatment.
According to official information from the Vatican, the American native - whose real name is Robert Francis Prevost - spent a quiet night after the operation. Leo is on the tenth floor of the Gemelli Clinic in the northwest of the Italian capital. His predecessor Francis was also treated there until shortly before his death at the age of 88 in April last year. The Argentine had been missing part of his lung since his early youth - like Leo now does.
The images from the Gemelli Hospital brought back memories for many of the spring of 2025, when the decrepit Francis struggled with pneumonia there for weeks. Again people gathered in front of the clinic to pray. The Catholic Church had actually hoped that with Leo - at 71, a relatively young pope who also does regular sports - there would no longer be any need to talk about illnesses in the foreseeable future.
During the 90-minute operation, the pontiff had the lower lobe of his right lung removed. One lump turned out to be a so-called lung adenocarcinoma, a malignant tumor. According to experts, this is the most common form of lung cancer and can also affect non-smokers - like the Pope. Leo is not known to be a smoker. The team of doctors led by the two Italians Luigi Carbone and Stefano Margaritora were satisfied with the success of the operation. Everything went “without complications,” they said.
However, it remains unclear how the treatment of the prominent patient will continue. This depends crucially on whether there are still cancer cells in the body. Even if the procedure was successful, there is a risk of a relapse. So far the Vatican has not commented on this.
It was only on Sunday that Leo made it public that such a lump had been found in his lungs during a routine check. Just two days later, Leo had already undergone surgery - which already indicated that there was cause for concern. These fears have now been confirmed.
The Pope was in the operating room for a total of three hours. The right lower lobe of the lung was completely removed. This is to ensure that there is nothing left of the tumor. The procedure was carried out using “video-assisted technology”. This usually involves making several small incisions in the chest, through which a mini camera and surgical instruments are then inserted. This means that the entire chest does not have to be opened.
After waking up, Leo was allowed to go back to his room on the tenth floor that evening, where there is a separate wing for popes. The Polish Pope John Paul II was also treated there several times. All official appointments until the middle of next week have been canceled.
There is still uncertainty as to what will happen next for the Pope. The doctor Jürgen Behr from the Chair of Clinical Pulmonology at the Ludwig Maximilians University in Munich told the German Press Agency that in the best case scenario the Pope would already be healed after the operation. Then all that’s left is some follow-up care. The removal of the lung lobe is associated with around 10 to 20 percent loss of lung performance. This is often not really noticeable in everyday life.
However, there is still no information from the Vatican or the medical team as to how large the tumor found was, whether there were any further nodes in the lung lobe and whether lymph nodes had already been affected. All three findings are associated with worse prospects, explained Behr. The Pope himself did not comment on his well-being in the first hours after the operation.
To everyone's surprise, Leo announced his illness himself on Sunday, in front of tens of thousands of believers in St. Peter's Square. He spoke of a node in a “very early stage”. As a rule, the chances of recovery are then significantly better than if the disease is discovered late. If the tumor is completely removed at an early stage, chemotherapy is usually not necessary.
Until the surprising announcement, the 267th Pope had no known health problems in church history. Leo keeps fit with tennis, swimming and regular exercises. He often keeps Tuesdays free to go to his residence, Castel Gandolfo, just outside Rome. When he was elected last May, it was speculated that he would have a long pontificate ahead of him.
Leo's older brother, Louis Prevost, is also currently being treated in hospital for cancer. He suffers from multiple myeloma. He said on US television that after his brother's procedure, he received a message from a close associate of the Pope saying that Leo was awake, feeling well and in no pain. He described the news of his illness as “quite a shock”.
It is also uncertain what will happen with the appointments in the next few weeks. An almost two-week trip to Uruguay, Argentina and Peru is actually on the agenda for November. The former global head of the Augustinian Order worked as a missionary and bishop in Peru for many years. The trip includes a visit to the city of Cusco at an altitude of 3,400 meters, which can lead to breathing problems, especially for those with lung disease.
By announcing his illness, Leo showed an openness in dealing with health problems that is by no means a given for popes. The Vatican used to keep the health status of church leaders tightly under wraps until their ailments were obvious - and sometimes even then.
