Pope Leo XIV’s lung cancer diagnosis prompts prayers in Colorado, raises awareness about early detection

As Pope Leo XIV recovers from surgery for lung cancer, Catholics in Colorado are joining people around the world in prayer. Health experts hope the diagnosis will encourage more people to get screened.

The Vatican confirmed Tuesday that the 71-year-old has lung adenocarcinoma, a common form of lung cancer. Surgeons removed the lower lobe of his right lung during an operation at Rome’s Gemelli Hospital.

According to the Vatican, the procedure was completed without complications.

The cancer was discovered after routine medical examinations revealed a small, localized nodule in his lung. Pope Leo announced Sunday that he would undergo surgery, saying the nodule had been discovered early.

Dennis Donovan, a Catholic in Littleton, was preparing to attend his regular Tuesday evening prayer group when he spoke with CBS Colorado.

“Just like with anybody that’s important, not just for the church, but for the world, a leader like the Pope, you’re immediately concerned about his well-being and certainly his health,” Donovan said.

He said his first thought was to pray for the Pope’s recovery.

“Sometimes we consider that people in high places are beyond the human experience, and this certainly makes them, I would agree, more relatable,” Donovan said.

Denver Archbishop James Golka also issued a statement Tuesday, thanking God for the Pope’s successful surgery and encouraging Catholics throughout the Archdiocese of Denver to pray for his healing.

“My dear brothers and sisters in Christ, we hold Pope Leo XIV close in prayer following his lung cancer diagnosis and give thanks to God for his successful surgery,” Golka wrote. “United as one Body in Christ, let us accompany him as he carries the cross of this diagnosis and healing.”

The Pope’s diagnosis is raising awareness about a disease often associated with smoking. But Dr. Boris Sepesi, director of thoracic surgery and thoracic surgical oncology at HCA HealthONE Swedish, says that assumption can be misleading.

“We have seen a significant rise in lung cancer in patients who are non-smokers or never-smokers,” Sepesi said.

Pope Leo has no known history of smoking. Although smoking remains the leading cause of lung cancer, Sepesi said other risk factors include secondhand smoke and exposure to radon, a naturally occurring radioactive gas that can accumulate inside homes.

According to the American Lung Association’s 2025 State of Lung Cancer report, 46.1% of radon test results in Colorado were at or above the Environmental Protection Agency’s recommended action level. Radon exposure can go unnoticed because the gas has no smell or color. Testing is the only way to determine whether a home has elevated levels.

Sepesi said one of the biggest challenges with lung cancer is that symptoms often do not appear until the disease has progressed. Symptoms can include a persistent cough, coughing up blood, hoarseness and chest pain.

That makes early detection particularly important. But according to the American Lung Association, just 11.2% of high-risk Coloradans received lung cancer screening, compared with 18.2% nationally. Colorado ranked 48th in the country.

Sepesi estimates that as many as eight in ten eligible patients in Colorado are missing the opportunity for early detection.

“I think that the stigma associated with it, the perhaps some guilt from previous history of smoking, they are scared to find out,” he said.

Current federal recommendations call for annual low-dose CT scans for adults between 50 and 80 years old who have a history of at least 20 pack-years of smoking and currently smoke or quit within the past 15 years.

However, those guidelines generally do not include people who have never smoked, even though they can also develop lung cancer.

“This is an evolving field, and the thoracic surgery and pulmonary field is pushing to define criteria even for patients who are never smokers,” Sepesi said.

Sepesi hopes the worldwide attention surrounding the Pope’s diagnosis will encourage more people to learn about lung cancer.

For Donovan and the faithful, the focus remains on the Pope’s recovery.

“Holy Father, we love you. We’re praying for you, and we will continue to pray for a full and speedy recovery,” he said.