The Holy Father underwent surgery for a nodule in his lung which was discovered during a routine check-up. The intervention concluded positively, within the expected time and manner and Prevost returned to his room, the Vatican press office announced. All hearings until Tuesday 20 October have been cancelled, as a week of post-operative hospitalization is expected
At the Gemelli Polyclinic in Rome, Pope Leo XIV underwent surgery to remove a nodule in his lung which the Holy Father said was in its initial and limited state and which was discovered during a routine check-up. The intervention concluded positively, within the expected time and manner and the Holy Father returned to the room, the Vatican press office announced. The Pontiff had left the Vatican shortly before 1pm to head to the hospital: he left the Perugino Gate in a car and arrived at the Polyclinic around 1.10pm, where he got out of the car to greet those present. The goal is to return to everyday life as soon as possible, but it will depend on the outcome of the surgery and the subsequent biopsy.
The intervention
The Pope's intervention was carried out by the thoracic surgery medical team led by Professor Stefano Margaritora, director of the complex Thoracic Surgery Unit at Gemelli, an expert in minimally invasive techniques. Also present was the Pontiff's personal doctor, Dr. Luigi Carbone, who arrived with him by car at Gemelli.
In-depth analysis
Luigi Carbone and Stefano Margaritora, the doctors who will treat the Pope
All hearings until October 20th cancelled
In the meantime, all hearings until Tuesday 20 October have been cancelled, given that - as announced from the beginning - a week of post-operative hospitalization is expected. Doubt remains about the Angelus on Sunday 18 March, but according to Vatican sources "we will see from day to day". Yesterday, however, the Pope regularly followed the activities on his agenda, also meeting the benefactors of the Circolo San Pietro.
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From John XXIII to Leo XIV, the health of the Popes is no longer a secret
“It seems like something very under control.”
Meanwhile, in the buildings of the Holy See there seems to be an atmosphere of tranquility. "I saw him very well, in excellent spirits and I would say that, if it hadn't been for the announcement he himself had made, he doesn't give the impression of a sick person: he gets up, he sits down, there are no symptoms or pain or discomfort", reported Monsignor Jorge Eduardo Lozano, archbishop of San Juan, Argentina, who met him yesterday morning. Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa is also reassuring: "From the inside they reassured us. The temper is strong and the doctors are good. It seems like something that is very much under control." "I am certain - said Cardinal Gianfranco Ravasi -, also from the news we have, that this intervention is not a serious commitment".
See also
Pope Leo has a nodule in his lung, the reactions from Mattarella to Meloni
Parolin: "A bolt from the blue but we are confident"
"We were all struck by the serenity with which the Pope announced this intervention. We hope that he can resolve this problem as soon as possible. We are confident but obviously we accompany him with our prayers", said Cardinal Secretary of State, Pietro Parolin, today before a conference at the Gregoriana. Then he explained that he had seen the Pope last night: "We spoke with great serenity. Am I worried? Yes, because I certainly wasn't expecting something like that." Then Parolin was asked if the announcement was a bolt from the blue in the Holy See too: "Of course, yes, no one expected it." And he concluded: the lump "is something that, thank God, we noticed immediately. And normally when these things are caught in time they can be resolved. But these are, as the Pope said, God's surprises".
In-depth analysis
Leo XIV, how the room at the Gemelli that will host the pontiff is made
