Pope Leo XIV arriving at Rome's Gemelli University Hospital for surgery to remove a lump from his lung today. Alamy Stock Photo
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The Vatican said the 71-year-old pontiff has returned to his room in Rome’s Gemelli hospital.
POPE LEO XIV’s surgery to remove a nodule on his lung has been completed “successfully, within the expected timeframe and as planned”, the Vatican has said.
The 71-year-old pontiff returned to his room after the surgery at Rome’s Gemelli hospital, according to a statement from the Vatican spokesman.
Leo had walked into Gemelli hospital through the main entrance earlier in the day and waved to dozens of well-wishers who had gathered to greet him.
The Vatican said the surgery would be performed by a team led by Gemelli’s chief thoracic surgeon, Dr Stefano Margaritora.
The operation got under way as medical staff recited the Rosary prayer in the hospital chapel this evening.
“Let us join together in prayer, asking the Lord to sustain our bishop, Pope Leo, and to comfort all those who are hospitalised here,” said the Vicar of Rome, Cardinal Baldassare Reina, at the start of the prayer.
Chicago-born Pope Leo has offered a rare level of transparency about the first publicly disclosed major health problem of his 17-month papacy.
He shared the discovery of the small, localised nodule during his noon prayer on Sunday and announced that he would have it removed, saying that it had been located “at a very early stage”.
A lung nodule is a small abnormal area measuring less than three centimetres that sometimes appears on a CT scan of the chest or abdomen. The Vatican said it was discovered during regular checks.
The surgery, which is usually performed under general anaesthesia, will require a weeklong hospital stay.
On Monday, the Vatican cancelled all Leo’s audiences through until 20 October.
He is next due to go to Uruguay, Argentina and Peru between 6 and 17 November.
With reporting from Press Association