A small spot found on one of his lungs has taken Pope Leo XIV into the Gemelli, the Rome hospital where pontiffs have been treated for decades. The 71-year-old was admitted on Tuesday, and the operation to remove the localised nodule could happen that same afternoon or, should further checks be needed, on Wednesday morning.
Whether the growth is malignant is not yet known; that answer will come only once the removed tissue has been examined. Nodules very often prove harmless, the leftovers of old infections, inflammation or scarring. A veteran Rome lung specialist who is not treating the pope said operations of this kind are well established and low in risk, noting his excellent fitness and adding that he is “in excellent hands”.
Thoracic teams nowadays usually work through tiny incisions: a camera and slim instruments enter the chest, the lung is briefly deflated, the affected section is cut out, and a drain afterwards helps it inflate again. Stefano Margaritora, who runs the hospital’s thoracic surgery unit, is expected to lead, with Luigi Carbone, the Vatican doctor who coordinates Leo’s care, also in attendance.
Leo broke the news himself to the crowd at Sunday’s Angelus prayer, an openness that stands in contrast to the guarded and often vague health statements of earlier papacies. Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni said the nodule turned up during routine examinations, not because of any symptoms.
His stay should last around a week, and all audiences are off through Oct. 20. Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle will celebrate Wednesday’s open-air Mass for a Vatican gathering on the family that marks ten years of Amoris laetitia, and the pope has asked for its final report to be held back until he can respond to it. A November journey to South America remains on the calendar. Visitors described him as cheerful and pain-free; Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa said things seemed “very much under control”.
