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By Jesus Mesa
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Pope Leo XIV will not need further cancer treatment following surgery to remove a tumor from his right lung, the Vatican said Wednesday, after final tests confirmed it was a localized lung adenocarcinoma.
The pope's personal physician, Dr. Luigi Carbone, and his surgeon, Dr. Stefano Margaritora, said in a statement that results of the final post-operative tests on tissue removed during the pope's surgery confirmed the initial diagnosis and that the cancer had not spread.
"Dr. Luigi Carbone and Professor Stefano Margaritora communicate the following regarding the Pope's post-operative recovery: Today, the final histological examinations and molecular biology tests on the material removed during the Holy Father's surgery were reported. The results confirmed that the tumor was a localized lung adenocarcinoma. A subsequent oncological evaluation confirmed that no further treatment is necessary," the statement reads.
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The pope had the lower lobe of his right lung removed to ensure the cancer was fully removed.
Further treatment may be needed if follow-up tests show that the cancer has spread or has signs of being particularly aggressive. Surgery alone can be enough when tumors are caught very early, often before they grow large or cause symptoms.
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What We Know About the Pope's Cancer
Doctors spotted the growth during a recent checkup, and Leo checked into Rome's Gemelli hospital on October 13 to have it taken out. The operation ran about 90 minutes, with no complications, according to the Vatican. Margaritora, who heads thoracic surgery at Gemelli, led the team that removed the lower lobe of the right lung using a video-assisted technique.
Tissue examined during the procedure confirmed what preoperative tests had suspected. Adenocarcinoma is the most common form of lung cancer, making up roughly 40 percent of U.S. cases.
Oncologists said ahead of the surgery that an early-stage tumor would leave Leo with an excellent prognosis. What nobody outside his medical team knew was whether the cancer had reached his lymph nodes. Wednesday's results settled it.
He isn't known to have smoked. Cancer does run in the family, though: his mother, Mildred, died of it in 1990, and his older brother Louis, who lives in Florida, is in the hospital with a form of the disease, the Vatican said last week.
He went home to the Vatican on October 17, four days after the operation, as Newsweek reported.
What the Pope and the Vatican Have Said
Leo had announced the surgery himself, live, during his Sunday noon prayer on October 11, a sharp break from the secrecy that long surrounded the health of earlier popes. Doctors had found a localized nodule in his lung, he told pilgrims, and he'd decided to take their advice and have it removed.
Every medical bulletin since has carried the signatures of his two doctors. Within a day of surgery, they reported, he was up and walking, eating and doing respiratory physiotherapy.
He kept working from his hospital room, too. On one call, he pressed Russian President Vladimir Putin for a ceasefire in Oleshky, a Ukrainian city under Russian occupation.
By Sunday he was at the window of the Apostolic Palace, saying he had "overcome" a delicate phase of his recovery and promising a gradual return to his duties.
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"The first thing I would like to say to you is: Thank you!" Leo told the crowd Wednesday morning, his voice strong, after riding through a drizzly St. Peter's Square, standing in the back of the open popemobile and stopping now and then to bless a baby.
How quickly he picks up his full schedule is another matter. Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Vatican's secretary of state, has hinted the pope may need to slow down. Margaritora expects him to be fully recovered in time for Uruguay, Argentina and Peru.
Messages of Support From Around the World
Prayers and get-well messages poured in from political and religious leaders after Leo announced the surgery, and again once the diagnosis went public.
"All of Argentina accompanies His Holiness with affection and prayer, wishing him a prompt and full recovery," Argentine President Javier Milei wrote on X. Leo is due in Buenos Aires next month.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky hoped for a successful surgery and a swift recovery. Israeli President Isaac Herzog sent his wishes "from the holy city of Jerusalem."
Canada's Mark Carney, India's Narendra Modi, Pakistan's Shehbaz Sharif and Australia's Anthony Albanese all chimed in, and so did U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres.
Among religious leaders, Sarah Mullally, the Archbishop of Canterbury, said she was keeping the pope in her prayers. The World Jewish Congress sent its wishes as well.
White House Response
Months of sparring over the Iran war and immigration didn't stop President Donald Trump from wishing the pope a quick recovery.
Speaking to reporters, Trump said: "I want to see Pope Leo get well. I hear the prognosis for that type of a problem, it's cancer. It's big stuff any time you have cancer." He brought up Leo's brother Louis, a vocal Trump supporter, who he said "loves the pope a lot," then signed off with: "Get better fast."
Vice President JD Vance, a Catholic, posted on X that his family was still praying for the pope's health and full recovery.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio and his wife, Jeanette, said they were united in prayer.
Newsweek’s reporters and editors used Martyn, our AI assistant, to produce this story. Learn more about Martyn here. Contact Newsweek editors on this story: Jason Lemon and Gray R. Thomas
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