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Vatican confirms Pope Leo XIV’s lung cancer diagnosis after surgery

The Vatican says surgery at Rome’s Gemelli Hospital was successful without complications. Further test results and treatment details remain pending.

By NewsCubby Editorial Desk · Published October 13, 2026 at 7:57 PM EDT

ROME — The Vatican confirmed on October 13 that Pope Leo XIV has lung adenocarcinoma following surgery at the Gemelli Hospital. A medical bulletin reproduced by Vatican News says doctors removed the lower lobe of his right lung, and testing during the operation confirmed the diagnosis.

The bulletin says the operation was successful, without complications. Leo woke normally and returned to his hospital room after observation. Vatican News reports that the expected hospital stay remains about a week, with further postoperative examinations to follow.

Associated Press reporters Nicole Winfield and Colleen Barry, with reporting from Lauran Neergaard, say the Vatican has not announced the next course of treatment while additional test results are pending. The reviewed statements do not establish that the cancer has spread or that Leo is cancer-free.

This is a substantive update to NewsCubby’s October 11 surgery announcement. A cancer diagnosis had not been publicly announced in that earlier report. Today’s confirmed diagnosis is a new development; predictions about recovery or future travel would go beyond the information reviewed.

Social file photograph: Pope Leo XIV at an audience with the media on May 12, 2025, by Edgar Beltrán / The Pillar, CC BY-SA 4.0. Cropping and vector headline layout were applied; the adaptation is shared under the same license. This is not a hospital or current-surgery photograph.

Vatican confirms Pope Leo XIV’s lung cancer diagnosis after surgery

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