Pope Leo XIV admitted to Rome hospital for lung nodule surgery
Pope Leo XIV entered Gemelli hospital in Rome on Tuesday for an operation to excise a lung nodule. The medical procedure will clarify whether the tissue growth is malignant and guide future treatment choices. The pontiff walked into the building through the main doors and waved to people outside.
Dr. Stefano Margaritora will lead the operating team later on Tuesday afternoon, the Vatican said. Margaritora serves as the facility’s chief thoracic surgeon.
The 71-year-old American pontiff shared news of the small growth during his Sunday noon prayer. He announced his plan to have doctors remove it.
Whether the lesion is malignant is not yet established. The exact technique for the procedure is also not known.
Oncologists say the pontiff holds an excellent prognosis if the growth is cancer. Removal occurs at an early stage. The surgery usually involves general anesthesia and a seven-day hospital stay.
All papal audiences through Oct. 20 were canceled on Monday, Vatican officials reported. The pontiff is staying in a room near the papal apartment. The official tenth-floor suite is currently undergoing renovations, according to the Vatican press office.
Dr. Lorenzo Spaggiari heads thoracic surgery at the European Institute of Oncology in Milan. He does not treat the pontiff directly.
“These are things that can be treated very well, if the words he used reflect the clinical situation,” said Spaggiari.
Spaggiari expects doctors will perform a biopsy and remove the lung section. Both steps can occur under the same anesthesia with robotic equipment. Gemelli and EIO both possess a robotic bronchoscopy tool called ION. The system tests nodules as small as 3 millimeters.
Tokyo Cardinal Kikuchi Tsutomu met with Leo on Monday in Rome. Tsutomu said the pontiff felt fine and wanted the operation done quickly. The fast schedule protects a planned November journey to Latin America.
“He has decided to undergo surgery soon in order to not change his plans for future overseas trips, so there is no need to worry, as it is not an emergency,” Kikuchi wrote on the Facebook page of the Tokyo archdiocese.
The planned journey runs from Nov. 6 to Nov. 17 across Uruguay, Argentina and Peru. The route covers over 31,000 kilometers across 12 flights and two helicopter trips. EIO advises patients to avoid flights for three weeks following thoracic operations.
Doctors discovered the nodule during routine health checks, Vatican officials said. Surgical risks range between 0.6% and 0.8% for patients with good heart and lung health, Spaggiari noted.
This event marks the second known hospital stay for the pontiff. Leo experienced typhoid fever in Chulucanas, Peru, in 1985 as a missionary, according to an interview in a 2025 book by Elise Ann Allen.
A lung nodule is an abnormal spot measuring under 3 centimeters on a chest scan. Medical scans often show these spots during evaluations for unrelated physical injuries or lung infections. Doctors often remove the spots to check for cancer and treat local tissue.
Gemelli hospital in Rome provides specialized care units and private suites for visiting popes. The facility handles complex thoracic operations through robotic surgery suites.
