The Vatican confirmed on Tuesday (13) that Pope Leo XIV, 71, has been diagnosed with lung cancer following surgery at the Gemelli hospital in Rome. According to a medical bulletin released by the Holy See, analysis of a nodule removed during the operation identified a pulmonary adenocarcinoma, one of the most common forms of the disease. The tumor had been detected in a recent routine exam.
The confirmation puts the health of the leader of roughly 1.4 billion Catholics at the center of international attention. Leo XIV, the first pope born in the United States, had the lower lobe of his right lung removed in a procedure that lasted about 90 minutes and went without complications, the Vatican said. The pontiff woke up normally and is resting in his hospital room, with a stay of about one week expected.
The news carries particular weight in Brazil, the country with the largest Catholic population in the world and a central territory for the Church in Latin America, a region Leo XIV knows well from his years of missionary work in Peru. Any prolonged absence of the pontiff tends to reshuffle the diplomatic agenda of the Holy See, which maintains one of its most active relationships on the continent with the Brazilian government.
The Gemelli, where the pope is hospitalized, is the clinic that has traditionally treated pontiffs in Rome. John Paul II was operated on there after the 1981 assassination attempt, and Francis was admitted to the same complex several times in recent years, making it the reference point for papal medical care.
Disease also affects his brother and marked the Prevost family
The pope's older brother, Louis Prevost, 74, is also being treated for cancer and is hospitalized in Florida, in the United States, according to G1. The types of cancer affecting him and the brothers' parents have not been disclosed, and there is no public information establishing a hereditary link between the cases.
In an interview with the National Catholic Reporter, another brother of the pontiff, John Prevost, said the family's mother, Mildred, died from the disease. Doctors initially estimated she had six months to live, but she survived another six to eight years after receiving an experimental drug. The father also died of cancer, about seven years after Mildred's death, according to John.
The Vatican has not yet detailed the treatment Leo XIV will follow after being discharged. The Holy See said new medical bulletins will be released in the coming days, and the pontiff is expected to stay away from public activities for at least one week.