The 71-year-old pontiff underwent surgery at Agostino Gemelli University Hospital on Tuesday after routine examinations identified a small nodule. Tests on tissue during the procedure confirmed lung adenocarcinoma, a form of cancer that doctors had already suspected from examinations conducted before the operation.
The Vatican said on Wednesday that Leo had spent a calm first night in hospital. Its press office said further information about his condition would be released later in the day, following an operation described by his medical team as successful and free of complications.
Doctors Luigi Carbone and Stefano Margaritora said the lower lobe of the right lung had been removed using a video-assisted surgical technique. The approach enabled surgeons to operate through small incisions with the aid of a camera, rather than relying on a large opening in the chest.
The operation itself lasted approximately 90 minutes, although the pope spent about three hours in the operating theatre. He regained consciousness normally after anaesthesia and returned to his room on the hospital’s tenth floor following a short period of observation.
The medical team said the extent of the removal was intended to achieve a radical resection, meaning the surgeons sought to remove the affected tissue completely. Further examinations of the tissue taken during surgery are expected to provide additional information about the disease.
The Vatican has not publicly established the cancer’s precise stage or disclosed whether lymph nodes were affected. It has also not announced whether the pope will require additional treatment, such as chemotherapy, after recovering from surgery. Those questions depend partly on the findings of the postoperative examinations.
Lung adenocarcinoma is a type of non-small-cell lung cancer arising in cells associated with the lung’s glandular tissue. Surgery can be a treatment for tumours that are sufficiently localised, although the appropriate course depends on the cancer’s stage and other clinical findings. A successful operation alone does not establish a patient’s longer-term prognosis.
Matteo Bruni, director of the Holy See Press Office, said the pope had requested dinner after the operation and spent Tuesday evening with his secretaries and other Vatican personnel. The Vatican has maintained its earlier estimate that he will remain in hospital for approximately one week.
The diagnosis follows the pope’s announcement during his Sunday Angelus address that doctors had detected a small, well-localised nodule in his lung. He said the abnormality had been identified at a very early stage and that he had accepted medical advice to undergo surgery.
Bruni subsequently explained that the nodule was discovered during routine medical checks, rather than an emergency examination. Leo continued with scheduled audiences on Monday before entering hospital on Tuesday, when he arrived for the planned operation under the care of the thoracic surgery team led by Margaritora.
The pope’s public engagements have been suspended during his recovery, with appearances cancelled through 20 October. Vatican officials have not announced a transfer of authority or any alteration to the formal governance of the Catholic Church while he remains in hospital.
Under the Church’s existing arrangements, a pope does not automatically relinquish his authority when hospitalised or temporarily incapacitated. Administrative responsibilities continue to be handled by senior Vatican officials, including the Secretariat of State, while decisions requiring the pontiff’s personal approval can await his recovery.
The operation represents the first major health problem publicly disclosed since Leo became pope in May 2025. His treatment has prompted messages of support and prayers from Catholic communities and political leaders, while the Vatican has concentrated its medical updates on the immediate surgical outcome and recovery.
Gemelli Hospital, which has extensive experience treating senior Vatican figures, is expected to conduct further postoperative assessments. The Vatican has not provided a definitive timetable for the release of the detailed pathology results or indicated when the pope might resume his ordinary programme of audiences.
Before admission, Leo had acknowledged the messages of support received from the faithful and asked them to pray for him. Hospital staff and well-wishers gathered near Gemelli as he arrived on Tuesday, and his recovery is taking place in a room on the hospital’s tenth floor, where he was also observed by medical staff following general anaesthesia.
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