On Tuesday, October 13, Leo XIV was operated on at the Gemelli Polyclinic in Rome. The first medical bulletin spoke of a lung adenocarcinoma and the surgeons removed the lower lobe of the right lung (ANSA, Tgcom24, la Repubblica, AP, Corriere Roma). The nodule had been found during a routine check-up (ANSA). The team of seven doctors was led by Stefano Margaritora (ANSA, AGI); according to ANSA and la Repubblica it was three hours in the operating room, with about an hour and a half of surgery. The Vatican Press Office said the operation ended “within the expected times and manner” and that the Pope has returned to his room. Audiences are suspended until October 20.
A malignant tumour changes the picture compared with the “nodule” announced on Sunday. The Pope’s health conditions the Church’s agenda and the Vatican’s diplomatic relations, starting with the trip to Latin America planned from November 6, which some dioceses are already questioning (ANSA).
For the faithful and for those who follow the Holy See, the reliable information is the bulletins of the Vatican Press Office. For anyone with a lung nodule the case is a reminder that regular check-ups matter: here the nodule was found in a routine check-up. Decisions on treatment are for the doctors and depend on the tests on the removed tissue.
Those who want more transparency would like regular bulletins and precise dates, so as to leave no room for rumours; la Repubblica recalls, however, that maximum confidentiality has been requested on the test results.
Others consider confidentiality legitimate for a sick person, even if he is the Pope: clinical data are communicated when they are certain, and the most important tests have yet to arrive.
Three facts are confirmed: the operation took place, the diagnosis is a malignant tumour, the Pope is in his room. Everything else, from treatment to the agenda, depends on tests that have not yet arrived. The senior physician interviewed by la Repubblica speaks of about two weeks: it is a general estimate, not a forecast for this case. To watch: the next bulletin, the decision on the November 6 trip and the calendar after October 20.
ANSA · Tgcom24 · la Repubblica · AP · AGI · La Stampa · Corriere Roma · October 13, 2026
Pope Leo XIV operated on at the Gemelli: malignant lung tumour, lower right lobe removed
After three hours in the operating room the Vatican spoke of a lung adenocarcinoma and of an operation that ended successfully. The result of the tissue tests and the calendar of upcoming engagements remain to be learned.
On Tuesday, October 13, Leo XIV was operated on at the Gemelli Polyclinic in Rome, and the first medical bulletin confirmed that the lung nodule was a malignant tumour, an adenocarcinoma (ANSA, Tgcom24, la Repubblica, AP). The surgeons removed the lower lobe of the right lung (la Repubblica, AP). The nodule had been found during a routine check-up, ANSA writes, and the hospital admission had been announced on Sunday by the Pontiff himself. Leo XIV, born Robert Prevost, is the first American Pope. On Tuesday he left the Vatican around midday and was welcomed in front of the hospital by about a thousand faithful (Tgcom24, AGI); la Repubblica quotes the words of someone who was there, who loves him “because he fights arrogance and violence.” The Pope is hospitalised on the tenth floor, in a small ward reserved for pontiffs with an apartment, a study and a chapel (ANSA).
The operation was entrusted to a team of seven doctors led by Stefano Margaritora, head of thoracic surgery at the Gemelli (ANSA, AGI). According to ANSA and la Repubblica it was three hours in the operating room, with about an hour and a half of actual surgery; La Stampa speaks of a video-assisted thoracoscopy, a minimally invasive technique. The Vatican Press Office said that everything went “within the expected times and manner” and that the Pope has returned to his room, on the tenth floor (ANSA, Tgcom24). The doctors, la Repubblica reports, spoke of a successful operation without complications.
What happens now? In the texts we have read the Vatican does not say whether further treatment will be needed. Luca Voltolini, a senior physician at Careggi, interviewed by la Repubblica, explains in general terms that one has to wait for the histological examination and the analysis of the lymph nodes: about two weeks to decide on therapies, while the hospital stay would last four or five days. This is the opinion of an expert, not a statement from the Pope’s doctors. La Repubblica also reports that the test results were handed over by hand to his team and do not go through computers.
The agenda is under discussion. Audiences are suspended until October 20 (Corriere Roma, ANSA). According to la Repubblica the Vatican must reconsider engagements and trips, and La Stampa speaks of uncertainty over future appointments. In Uruguay Cardinal Sturla does not rule out a postponement of the visit planned from November 6 and is waiting for the decision of the Holy See; the archdiocese of Lima urges caution on the trip to Peru (ANSA). Cardinal Parolin had called the announcement “a bolt from the blue,” adding that he was confident (ANSA). Messages of closeness have come from the Mexican bishops, the Chilean government and political figures from Colombia and Venezuela (ANSA). La Stampa writes that a “war room” has been set up in the Vatican to manage the emergency until his recovery. In the texts we have read the dates of discharge and of the resumption of activities are missing: DailyDrop is following today’s bulletin.