Vatican provides update on Pope Leo’s recovery after surgery

Published: 11:59 EDT, 14 October 2026 | Updated: 11:59 EDT, 14 October 2026

Pope Leo XIV is eating regularly and has begun walking after undergoing surgery to remove a cancerous mass from his lung, the Vatican has revealed.

The Pontiff, 71, went in for a 90-minute surgery on Tuesday morning after a lesion was found on his chest and was later diagnosed with cancer after having part of his lung removed.

Vatican doctors Dr. Luigi Carbone and thoracic surgeon Dr. Stefano Margaritora on Wednesday confirmed a normal post-operative recovery for Leo.

‘The Holy Father underwent respiratory physiotherapy and has begun walking in his room. He resumed his regular diet and had breakfast and lunch,’ they said, adding: ‘Recovery is proceeding as planned.’

The surgery on Tuesday showed the pope has the most common type of lung cancer, known as lung adenocarcinoma, the Vatican said in a medical bulletin late on Tuesday.

The revelation – within a few hours of an operation that was announced by Leo himself – offered further evidence that the American pontiff is taking a new approach to communicating about his health.

The Vatican said the surgery lasted approximately 90 minutes and was successful, with no complications.

Doctors were waiting for the results of further tests before deciding on a course of treatment, the Vatican said.

The press office pointed to the medical statement’s mention of the ‘radical’ removal of the lobe as an indication that doctors took out all suspect tissue in hopes of removing any lingering traces of the cancer.

The right lung has three sections or lobes while the left has two. After one lobe is removed, the rest of the lung can gradually compensate, especially in otherwise healthy and physically active people. Leo is known to be sporty, with weekly tennis games and swimming.

The American pontiff has offered a rare level of transparency about the first publicly disclosed major health problem of his 17-month papacy.

He revealed the discovery of the nodule, or growth, on his lung during his Sunday noon prayer, announcing it to the world on live television almost as an aside at the end of his blessing.

The Vatican has long been secretive about the health of popes and tightly controlled any such information – a practice encapsulated in the popular Italian saying, ‘ The pope is fine until he’s dead.’

St. John XXIII died in 1963, nearly a year after doctors diagnosed stomach cancer that was kept hidden at the time. St. John Paul II died in 2005 after suffering for years from the obvious effects of Parkinson’s disease that the Vatican only confirmed after he died.

Pope Francis seemed more up front about his health problems, giving an Argentine doctor a tell-all interview for a book about his physical and mental health.

But in the end Francis, too, tightly controlled the information that was released in his dying months.

The Vatican on Monday canceled all Leo’s audiences through October 20. But there was no word on whether he would be able to keep his planned trip to South America next month.

Oncology surgeons often advise patients not to fly for three weeks after surgery – which would give the pope just enough time to make his planned November 6-17 trip to Uruguay, Argentina and Peru. But whether he can go will depend on his recovery.

The current itinerary for the trip is ambitious and the longest of his papacy to date, calling for Leo to clock just over 19,000 miles on a dozen flights and two helicopter rides, and a significant altitude change in Peru.