On Tuesday, October 13, Pope Leo XIV was operated on at the Gemelli Polyclinic in Rome for the lung nodule announced on Sunday. In the evening the doctors spoke of a lung adenocarcinoma, a malignant tumor, and of a successful operation: the right lower lobe was removed by video-assisted thoracoscopy, with no complications (Tgcom24, la Repubblica, La Stampa, Il Fatto Quotidiano). The Pope spent about three hours in the operating room, about ninety minutes of which for the operation; the team of seven doctors was led by Stefano Margaritora (la Repubblica, Il Fatto Quotidiano, ANSA). On Wednesday the Holy See reported a quiet night and the Vatican Press Office a regular course: the Pope got up, ate and began respiratory physiotherapy (ANSA, Tgcom24). La Repubblica also writes that the tumor reportedly emerged about twenty days ago during an MRI done for a stomach check-up; other outlets do not confirm it. The lymph node examination takes about two weeks, according to surgeon Luca Voltolini, who is not treating the Pope.
A Pope operated on for a tumor changes the Church’s agenda and the Vatican’s diplomatic work, and the decision to name the illness, unusual for the Holy See, shows how the coming weeks will be communicated (ANSA). For the faithful two things matter: the immediate course, which is regular, and the outcome on the lymph nodes, which will decide whether further therapies are needed.
An expert interviewed by Il Fatto Quotidiano recalls that adenocarcinoma is the most common subtype of non-small-cell lung cancer. For anyone with a lung nodule, it is the doctor who decides whether to monitor it or remove it. For the Pope’s audiences and trips, only the Holy See’s communiqués count.
Those who ask for transparency appreciate that the Holy See named the illness and released bulletins: it reduces rumors and speculation.
Others stress discretion: the test results were delivered by hand to the Pope’s team and the Gemelli asked that he be left to rest (la Repubblica, ANSA). Clinical details, they say, are not a public obligation.
The course is good and it should be said without triumphalism. We know the tumor was malignant and that a lobe was removed; we do not know whether the lymph nodes are involved, so it cannot yet be said whether additional treatment is needed. The estimate of four or five days in hospital comes from an outside surgeon, not from the Holy See. To follow: the next bulletin, the discharge date and the outcome of the histological examination, expected towards the end of the month.
Tgcom24 · la Repubblica · La Stampa · Il Fatto Quotidiano · ANSA · RaiNews · October 14, 2026
Leo XIV undergoes lung surgery: it was an adenocarcinoma, the right lower lobe removed. The post-operative course is regular
The operation at the Gemelli lasted about three hours in the operating room, with a minimally invasive technique and no complications. On Wednesday the Pope got up, ate and began respiratory physiotherapy. To know whether further treatment is needed, we have to wait for the lymph node examination.
On Sunday, October 11, at the Angelus, Leo XIV had announced that he would undergo surgery (la Repubblica); Cardinal Pietro Parolin, Secretary of State, had called the news “a bolt from the blue” (Il Fatto Quotidiano). On Tuesday, October 13, the Pope was operated on at the Gemelli Polyclinic in Rome. In the evening the doctors said that the lung nodule announced on Sunday was a lung adenocarcinoma: a malignant tumor (Tgcom24, la Repubblica, La Stampa, Il Fatto Quotidiano). The surgeons removed the right lower lobe of the lung by video-assisted thoracoscopy, a minimally invasive procedure carried out through small incisions (La Stampa, Tgcom24). The Pope spent about three hours in the operating room, about ninety minutes of which for the operation itself. Reports speak of a successful operation with no complications (la Repubblica, Il Fatto Quotidiano, Tgcom24). The team consisted of seven doctors and was led by Stefano Margaritora, director of Thoracic Surgery at the Gemelli and an expert in minimally invasive techniques (ANSA).
On Wednesday the Holy See reported a quiet night (ANSA, RaiNews, Tgcom24, La Stampa). In the afternoon the Vatican Press Office spoke of a regular post-operative course: Leo XIV got up, ate and began respiratory physiotherapy, and “his mood is good” (ANSA, Tgcom24). According to Il Fatto Quotidiano he also walked around the room and concelebrated Mass in a hall of the hospital. An expert interviewed by ANSA recalls that the first 24-48 hours remain the most delicate. The Pope’s brother, Louis Prevost, said he had received a message in which Leo said he was doing well (ANSA).
The open question is the lymph nodes. Luca Voltolini, a thoracic surgeon at Careggi, in Florence, who is not treating the Pope, explained to la Repubblica that the histological examination takes about two weeks and that only afterwards will it be decided which therapies to adopt; the hospital stay, he added, normally lasts four or five days. La Stampa headlines on “fears over the lymph nodes” and on the uncertainty about further treatment. The Holy See has communicated neither a discharge date nor a treatment plan. Cardinal Sturla, in Uruguay, does not rule out a postponement of the Pope’s visit (ANSA).
La Repubblica writes that the test results were delivered by hand to the Pope’s team, without passing through computers, to protect them from theft. ANSA notes that the Holy See chose to name the illness, a change of pace in Vatican communication. Wishes for a recovery have arrived from many capitals: from Chile to Mexico, from Peru to Colombia (ANSA), and from Donald Trump (la Repubblica). What we do not know: the outcome of the lymph node examination, any later treatment and when Leo XIV will be able to resume his engagements. DailyDrop is following today’s bulletins.