Pope Leo XIV Walking and Eating After Lung Cancer Surgery as Doctors Await Further Tests

Pope Leo XIV is walking, eating normally and undergoing respiratory physiotherapy after surgery to remove part of his right lung, his doctors said, as the first American pope recovers from an early-stage lung cancer diagnosis that has unsettled Catholics around the world.

The Chicago-born pontiff, 71, underwent a roughly 90-minute operation at Rome’s Gemelli Hospital on Tuesday afternoon. The Vatican said the procedure was successful and proceeded without complications.

Entire lower lobe removed

Surgeons removed the whole lower lobe of the pope’s right lung “to ensure the procedure was radical,” the Vatican said. Analysis of the tissue confirmed lung adenocarcinoma, “as suspected by pre-operative tests.” Blood tests and a chest X-ray on Wednesday showed his recovery was “proceeding normally,” according to the medical team, and he is expected to remain in the hospital for about a week.

Leo disclosed his condition himself during Sunday prayers in St. Peter’s Square, telling the crowd that doctors had found a “well-contained” nodule on his lung “at an early stage” and had advised him to have it removed. The Vatican stressed that he had shown no symptoms of infection or illness beforehand.

Further tests ahead

Additional tests are needed to determine whether the cancer has spread and whether further treatment will be required, according to reporting from the Vatican and the Associated Press. A Vatican source told AFP that such tests had been carried out.

Adenocarcinoma, which develops in mucus-producing cells, is one of the most common forms of lung cancer. Long-term outlook depends heavily on the stage at diagnosis and a patient’s overall health; tumors found early—sometimes during routine scans before symptoms appear—are often highly treatable, and surgical removal is a standard approach for localized disease.

The diagnosis has revived memories of the health struggles of Leo’s predecessor, Pope Francis, who had part of a lung removed as a young man and later endured a series of respiratory infections before his death last year. Leo, a former missionary in Peru and head of the Augustinian order, was elected in May 2025 and is generally regarded as fit.

Update: Pope leaves hospital

Pope Leo XIV left Gemelli Hospital on Saturday afternoon, Oct. 17, on his fifth day there, and returned to the papal apartments in Vatican City. His personal physician, Dr. Luigi Carbone, and Prof. Stefano Margaritora, the thoracic surgeon who led the operation, said blood tests and a chest X-ray that morning confirmed he was fit to be discharged.

Before leaving, the pope celebrated Mass in a room set aside on the hospital’s 10th floor and thanked the surgical and nursing teams, the Holy See Press Office said. Video showed him walking out without assistance and waving to well-wishers. Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni said the estimated post-operative recovery time is about one week.

The Vatican said Leo would recite the Angelus from the window of the Apostolic Palace on Sunday, Oct. 18. No further treatment has been announced.

Update: Angelus return and gradual resume

October 18, 2026 — Four days after surgeons removed the lower lobe of his right lung, Leo led the Angelus from the Apostolic Palace overlooking St. Peter’s Square, his first public Vatican appearance since the operation. “Now that this delicate phase is behind me, I will gradually resume my activities, always with God’s help and your prayers,” he said, according to Vatican News and Associated Press reporting. He thanked doctors and nurses at Gemelli Hospital and said the experience had made him feel close to people living with illness. Histological tests on the tumor and lymph nodes were still underway to guide any further treatment. Surgeon Dr. Stefano Margaritora told Vatican News he expected full recovery from surgery in about another 10 days and saw “no clinical reasons” the pope’s Nov. 6–17 trip to Uruguay, Argentina and Peru should not proceed.