Pope Leo XIV discharged from Gemelli Hospital after lung cancer surgery

Pope Leo XIV was discharged from Rome’s Gemelli Hospital on Saturday afternoon, days after surgeons removed the lower lobe of his right lung to treat cancer. The 71-year-old pontiff walked out without physical support. He waved to well-wishers before returning to the Vatican.

The surgery lasted about 90 minutes. Surgeons used a video-assisted technique to remove the lower lobe of his right lung, a procedure that went beyond the localized nodule doctors had first identified. Professor Stefano Margaritora, Gemelli’s chief of thoracic surgery, led the operating team, working alongside the Pope’s personal physician, Dr. Luigi Carbone. Lung tissue examined after the operation confirmed a diagnosis of lung adenocarcinoma. Vatican spokesperson Matteo Bruni said the estimated post-operative recovery time will be about one week. The Pope was discharged on his fifth day in hospital, sooner than had been expected when the operation was announced, after blood tests and a chest X-ray that morning confirmed he was well enough to leave.

Before leaving, the Pope celebrated Mass in a room set aside for that purpose on the hospital’s 10th floor. Photographs released on Friday showed him celebrating Mass and distributing communion for hospital staff. He had announced the surgery to crowds in St. Peter’s Square the Sunday before the operation, telling worshippers that doctors had discovered a localized nodule at a very early stage. “Following their advice, I have therefore decided to undergo an operation to remove it,” he said.

A common cancer, a family shadow

Adenocarcinoma accounts for about 40% of all lung cancers in the U.S., making it the most common form of the disease, according to the Lung Cancer Foundation of America. Dr. Otis Brawley, an oncologist at Johns Hopkins University and former chief medical and scientific officer of the American Cancer Society, noted that it is the most common form among nonsmokers as well. The Pope is not known to have smoked. Cancer runs in his family, though. His mother, Mildred, died of cancer in 1990. On Tuesday, the Vatican announced that his older brother Louis, who lives in Florida, has been hospitalized with a form of cancer. The Pope still exercises regularly, playing tennis weekly with his personal secretary and riding horses at Castel Gandolfo, the papal retreat south of Rome.

Dr. Vin Gupta, a pulmonologist and American Lung Association board member, told NPR that using surgery as the first tool is a really good sign and suggests the medical team believes the cancer is at an early stage. Gupta added that removing a larger portion of the lung than first announced is not itself alarming. Dr. Jonathan Villena Vargas, a cardiothoracic surgeon at Weill Cornell Medical Center, said the Pope had a minimally invasive surgery and that most patients are allowed to travel about two weeks after the procedure. Brawley said patients in good shape who undergo this type of operation “very frequently are back to normal in seven to 10 days,” and regarding the Pope’s planned travel, added, “I think he can do it.”

Cleared calendar, a call to Putin, and a trip ahead

The Pope’s public schedule has been cleared until 20 October. The Vatican said he will lead the Angelus prayer on Sunday from the window of the papal apartment, as he did last week when he surprised the world by announcing the surgery. A three-country Latin America trip is planned for early November, including Peru, Uruguay, and Argentina. The Pope lived in Peru on and off for two decades and holds citizenship there. Those close to him said he was keen not to delay the trip. On Friday, he spoke with Russian President Vladimir Putin in their first call since June 2025, urging dialogue and peace. He also called for a humanitarian ceasefire in the Ukrainian city of Oleshkiy, occupied by Russia and under constant shelling, to allow evacuation and the delivery of food and medicine.

It is not yet clear whether the Pope will require further treatment.