Pope Leo XIV is recovering from Successful Lung Surgery

The Vatican has confirmed that the American Pope is recovering from a successful lung surgery on the 13th of October 2026. 

The 71-year-old underwent a 90-minute surgery on Tuesday (13.10.2026) at Rome's Gemelli Hospital and was subsequently diagnosed with lung adenocarcinoma.

The Pope is said to have awaken normally, and has since rellocted within Rome’s Gemelli Hospital, where he is expected to stay for about a week. 

Large crowds had waited outside the hospital for the Pope's arrival on Tuesday morning, cheering as he waved and smiled through a window at the crowds as his car drove past.

It was Leo himself who on Sunday announced news of his operation to the world during his weekly Sunday prayers, telling the crowd in St Peter's Square that doctors had found a nodule on his lung.

A nodule is a small, discrete, hard lump or growth that is distinct from the surrounding tissue.

The Vatican said the whole lower lobe of the Pope's right lung was removed "to ensure the procedure was radical".

The Vatican has stressed that the Pope, who is generally thought to be fit, had no symptoms of infection or illness.

Cardinal Kikuchi Tarcisio Isao of Tokyo said the Pope - whose schedule has been cleared until 20 October to allow him to recover - had decided to check in for surgery as soon as possible, upon discovering the nodule, because he was willing not to delay a planned trip to South America in early November.

The trip is particularly important to Pope Leo XVI because it includes a visit to Peru, where he was a missionary and then a Bishop for many years.

Since the Pope's diagnosis earlier in the week, it has become publicly aware that his brother, Louis Prevost, was also being treated for a different kind of cancer - multiple myeloma, a form of blood cancer.

Officials had announced just a day before the Pope, revealed his surgery that they were expecting 1.5 million people to travel there to witness his return, due to his peruvian naturalization.

Pope Leo XVI is expected to make a full, speedy and healthy recovery.

It is still unclear, whether or not the Pope must undergo chemotherapy.