POPE LEO’S POSTOPERATIVE RECOVERY PROGRESSING WELL
A statement released by the Holy See Press Office this afternoon (14th October) from Dr Luigi Carbone and Professor Stefano Margaritora, the chief of Thoracic Surgery at the Hospital who performed the operation along with the medical team, have issued the following update on Pope Leo XIV’s postoperative recovery:
“This morning, the Holy Father underwent the blood tests and chest X-ray scheduled after surgery. The results confirm that his postoperative recovery is progressing normally: the values are within the expected range for the type of operation performed.
“The Holy Father has undergone respiratory physiotherapy and has begun walking around his room. He has resumed eating normally and had breakfast and lunch.”
Pope Leo XIV underwent thoracic surgery at Gemelli Hospital yesterday afternoon (13th October), as planned, according to a statement from Dr. Luigi Carbone and Professor Stefano Margaritora released by the Holy See Press Office.
The surgeons removed the lower lobe of the Pope’s right lung. “To ensure a radical resection, the lower lobe of the right lung was removed using a video-assisted technique,” the statement said.
Tissue examined during the operation confirmed the diagnosis suspected from tests conducted beforehand.
“An intraoperative histological examination confirmed the diagnosis of lung adenocarcinoma, as suspected from the preoperative examinations,” the doctors said.
The Pope was in the operating room for approximately three hours, while the operation itself lasted about 90 minutes. The doctors said it was successful and there were no complications.
Pope Leo awoke normally after surgery and, following a brief period of observation, returned to his room on the hospital’s 10th floor, according to the statement.
Professor Margaritora led the surgical team, assisted by Professor Elisa Meacci, Dr. Maria Teresa Congedo, and Dr. Leonardo Petracca Ciavarella.
The anesthesia team comprised Professor Massimo Antonelli, Dr. Giovanni Punzo, and Dr. Giuseppe Bello.
In the coming days, post-operation exams will be conducted on the removed tissue. The preoperative tests had already shown the doctors where and how to operate.
No change has been communicated regarding the previously announced hospitalisation time of one week.
Following the operation, Pope Leo asked for dinner and spent the evening in the company of his secretaries and other Vatican staff, according to the Director of the Holy See Press Office, Matteo Bruni.
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https://www.vaticannews.va/en/
Pic: 13th Oct, 2026. Italy, Rome, Vatican, October 13, 2026: Lamps and flowers outside Gemelli Hospital, where Pope Leo is hospitalized ahead of surgery to remove a lung nodule, in Rome, Italy. © Alessia Giuliani/ CPP Credit: Independent Photo Agency