VATICAN CITY — Pope Leo XIV left Rome’s Gemelli Hospital on Saturday, four days after surgery for lung cancer. The 71-year-old pope had the lower lobe of his right lung removed on Tuesday, Oct. 13.
Leo is the first American pope. The Vatican said the operation went well and there were no complications, Al Jazeera reported.
What happened
Doctors found a growth in the pope’s lung during a routine health check. Leo told reporters about it the Sunday before his surgery. He went to Gemelli on Tuesday, and his lead surgeon, Dr. Stefano Margaritora, removed the lower lobe of the right lung using a video-assisted technique. The operation lasted about 90 minutes.
Tests of the tissue confirmed lung adenocarcinoma, the most common form of lung cancer. The Vatican said doctors suspected the diagnosis before the surgery. It also described the removal of the lobe as “radical,” meaning surgeons took out all the tissue they considered suspicious in the hope of getting rid of the cancer completely.
Recovery so far
A day after the operation, the Vatican said Leo was out of bed, walking, eating and doing breathing exercises with a physiotherapist. He spent a quiet night in the hospital after the surgery, and he returned to his room on the hospital’s tenth floor, where a wing is set aside for popes.
The Vatican had said he would stay in the hospital for about a week, so leaving on Saturday is earlier than that estimate. His public events through Oct. 20 are canceled.
What we still don’t know
The Vatican has not said how large the tumor was or whether the cancer had spread to nearby lymph nodes. Those details help doctors judge the outlook and decide whether more treatment is needed. When a tumor is found early and removed completely, chemotherapy is often not required, but doctors say there is still a risk that cancer can come back.
About the pope’s health
Cardinals elected Leo in May 2025. He is relatively young for a pope and is known to swim and play tennis. He is not known to be a smoker, and he had no reported history of serious illness.
The Latin America trip
Leo is scheduled to make an official trip to Latin America from Nov. 6 to Nov. 17, with stops in Uruguay, Argentina and Peru. He told reporters before the surgery that he plans to go. The Vatican has not announced any change to the schedule.
What’s next
The Vatican is expected to release more medical updates as he recovers. This story will be updated as new details are confirmed.
