By Pope Leo XIV resumes hospital work as cancer test results remain pending
Pope Leo XIV has resumed working from Rome’s Gemelli hospital following lung cancer surgery, the Vatican said on October 15, 2026. Doctors were awaiting further test results to determine whether he would need additional treatment.
The 71-year-old pontiff was reviewing documents and, for a second day, concelebrated Mass with other priests in a chapel prepared near his room on the hospital’s 10th floor, the Vatican said.
Surgeons removed the lower lobe of his right lung on October 13. Examination of tissue during the operation confirmed lung adenocarcinoma, which preoperative tests had raised concerns about, according to the Holy See Press Office. The procedure lasted about 90 minutes, with Leo spending approximately three hours in the operating room.
His recovery comes ahead of a scheduled November 6–17 apostolic journey to Uruguay, Argentina and Peru. The Holy See’s published itinerary begins with travel from Rome to Montevideo on November 6.
Asked whether the trip would change, Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni pointed to Leo’s earlier message thanking people for their prayers for his pastoral visit to Peru. It is not yet clear whether the journey will proceed as scheduled.
Leo’s personal doctor, Dr Luigi Carbone, and Gemelli’s thoracic surgery chief, Dr Stefano Margaritora, said postoperative tests were within expected levels and a chest X-ray showed the operated lung recovering well. His Thursday physiotherapy included full mobility exercises, and he was carrying out daily activities independently, Yahoo News New Zealand reported.
The Holy See Press Office also said he had spent a good second night in hospital, got up and ate breakfast. An earlier medical statement said he had begun walking around his room, received respiratory physiotherapy and resumed eating normally.
Further tests will establish the cancer’s molecular characteristics and whether it has spread beyond the removed lobe. The timing of those results, and any decision on additional treatment, has not been announced.
Leo was expected to remain hospitalized until at least October 20, Yahoo News New Zealand reported. The Vatican had not changed its initial estimate of a one-week stay, but no discharge date has been confirmed.
Sources
- Yahoo News New Zealand: Pope Leo resumes work from the hospital as he awaits cancer treatment update
- Vatican News / Holy See Press Office: Pope Leo has good second night at Rome’s Gemelli hospital
- Holy See Press Office: Apostolic Journey of the Holy Father to Uruguay, Argentina and Peru (6–17 November 2026)
