The Pontiff was in the operating room at the Gemelli in Rome for 3 hours, for an actual duration of the operation of approximately 90 minutes: the lower lobe of the right lung was removed with video-assisted technique. In the morning, blood tests and a chest x-ray were performed, the results of which confirm a regular post-operative path. The hospital stay should last a week.
Pope Leo XIV underwent surgery yesterday at the Gemelli Polyclinic in Rome for the removal of a malignant tumor in a lung. In the afternoon, a new bulletin arrived regarding his health conditions. "The Holy Father performed the blood tests and chest x-ray required after the operation. The results confirm a regular post-operative course: the values are within the norm for the type of operation performed", explain the treating doctors. Prevost also "undertook respiratory physiotherapy and began walking in the room", as well as having resumed "a regular diet with breakfast and lunch". The progress therefore proceeds "as planned". The "Pope is well, his mood is good", adds the director of the Vatican press office Matteo Bruni. The hospital stay should last a week, as expected. On Leo XIV's next trip in November to Uruguay, Argentina and Peru, Bruni assures that he has expressed "his intention and his desire to go, then we will see".
The first night after the operation
This morning the Vatican press office had already announced a quiet night for the Pontiff: the intervention "concluded positively". Later the doctors announced that "the extemporaneous histological examination confirmed the diagnosis of a lung adenocarcinoma, as suspected by the pre-operative tests". The team also announced that "to make the operation radical, the lower lobe of the right lung was removed with a video-assisted technique".
The discovery of the tumor
The surgical team was made up of seven doctors and led by Professor Stefano Margaritora. "We hope that this problem can be resolved as soon as possible. We are confident", said Cardinal Secretary of State Pietro Parolin, who admitted having learned the news like a bolt from the blue. The routine check-up after the trip to France had revealed a problem that needed to be solved. And the Pope decided that this step had to be taken as soon as possible.
Pope's brother: “I received a message, he was fine”
Louis Prevost, brother of Pope Leo Then he added: "Let's be clear, what they found" at the Pope during the intervention, "is bad" but has been "completely removed".
Von der Leyen: “A speedy recovery for the Pope”
"I would like to express my best wishes to Leo
Chaplain: “Leo wants us to pray the rosary for peace”
Don Nunzio Currao, one of the chaplains of the Agostino Gemelli polyclinic, celebrated the 1pm mass in the chapel dedicated to Saint John Paul II. And he said: "What is Pope Leo's favorite prayer? It is the rosary and he recommended it to be recited, especially in this month of October. He started it in the Vatican Gardens with many children, imagine, and he asked to recite it with the aim of asking for the gift of peace. So let's continue to pray for the Holy Father and for all the sick, especially with the rosary." Several times, during the mass, Don Nunzio urged people to reserve prayers for the Pope as well as for the other sick people hosted in the large hospital complex.
Pope: “Without families open to life the world has no future”
Furthermore, today Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle read the homily of Leo Without solid families, open to the gift of their children, attentive to their education and growth, the world has no future."
Best wishes to the Pope from all over the world
King Charles III wrote privately to the Pope to wish him a speedy recovery. The monarch himself has been undergoing treatment since the beginning of 2024 for a tumor whose nature has not been revealed. Meanwhile, already during the Italian night, the international reactions to the intervention had arrived: the interim president of Venezuela, Delcy Rodríguez, expressed the wish for a speedy and complete recovery to Pope Leo XIV. The president of Chile, José Antonio Kast, made it known that "our country accompanies the Supreme Pontiff with particular affection in these moments and all the faithful who profess the Catholic religion". In Mexico the local Episcopal Conference invited parishes, families, priests and faithful to pray for the health of Leo XIV, while the archdiocese of Lima said it was "dismayed" by the diagnosis of lung adenocarcinoma. Finally, Cardinal Daniel Sturla, archbishop of Montevideo, did not rule out that the Pontiff could postpone the visit to Uruguay scheduled for 6 to 8 November. The Italian Buddhist Union also expressed its closeness to Pope Leo XIV and wished him "a speedy and full recovery" after the operation.
Rubio: “My wife and I united in prayer for Pope Leo”
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said he and his wife Jeanette are praying for Pope Leo XIV after the US-born pontiff was diagnosed with lung cancer. “Jeanette and I are united in praying for the Pope's health after his recent diagnosis,” wrote Rubio, a practicing Catholic, in a post on X. “May the Lord give him strength and may the Holy Spirit guide the doctors who care for the Holy Father,” Rubio added.
