The Pope has been diagnosed with cancer after undergoing a “successful” surgery to remove the lower lobe of his right lung, the Vatican has said.
Doctors confirmed a diagnosis of lung adenocarcinoma, a common type of lung cancer, in a statement on Pope Leo XIV’s pre-planned surgery on Tuesday evening.
The update from Dr Luigi Carbone and Professor Stefano Margaritora added cancer had been suspected by pre-operative tests.
The Pope’s lung surgery went ahead “as scheduled”, the statement said, with the lower lobe of his right lung removed during a procedure which lasted about 90 minutes.
The Pope was in the operating theatre for around three hours and suffered no complications during the operation.
The doctors added: “Following the operation, the Pope woke up normally and, after a brief period of observation, returned to his room on the tenth floor.”
Archbishop Richard Moth, leader of the Catholics in England and Wales, said on Sunday that he had sent a message to the 71-year-old American pontiff as he prepared for his surgery.
He said: “I have sent a message on behalf of all in the Catholic Church in England and Wales, assuring him of our prayers.”
Pope Leo arrives at the hospital (Alessandra Tarantino/AP)
AP
Archbishop of Canterbury Dame Sarah Mullally described meeting Pope Leo in April as a “privilege”.
Dame Sarah, the first female to hold the top ministry role in the Church of England, said their meeting at the Vatican was significant “regardless of me being a woman”.
The two religious leaders prayed together and shared with each other their “desire to see peace and reconciliation and justice in the world”, the archbishop said.
Among gifts offered to the Pope from Dame Sarah was a jar of honey made from nectar from beehives in Lambeth Palace Garden in London, described by her office as “a simple and hospitable token, rooted in place and daily life”.
Pope Leo commented “still a nurse” when Dame Sarah handed it to him, referring to her previous career when she was chief nurse in England.