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Pope Leo had lobe of lung removed as doctors found cancer, Vatican says

By Thomson Reuters Oct 13, 2026 | 3:22 PM

VATICAN CITY, Oct 13 (Reuters) – Pope Leo had a lower lobe ​of his right ‌lung removed during surgery on Tuesday and was diagnosed with lung adenocarcinoma, a ‌common ​form of ⁠lung cancer, the ⁠Vatican said in a medical bulletin.

Leo, 71, was admitted to Rome’s ​Gemelli hospital on Tuesday for surgery ⁠to remove a ⁠growth on his ​lung that doctors found ​in a recent health ‌checkup.

Tuesday’s surgery lasted about 90 minutes and was successful with no ⁠complications, the Vatican said. The pope has woken up normally ⁠and ‌is resting ⁠in his hospital room.

The ​Vatican ‌said previously that ​the ⁠pope was expected to spend a week in hospital recovering.

(Reporting by Joshua McElwee; Editing by Crispian ​Balmer)