Pope Leo XIV will not need therapy following an operation to remove a cancerous tumour from his lung, his doctors said in a statement released by the Vatican last Wednesday (Oct 21, 2026).
Test results showed that the 71-year-old’s cancer “was localised” and “a subsequent oncological assessment confirmed that no further therapy is required”, the statement said.
Leo, who was elected just last year (2025) as the first American pope, told followers on Oct 11 (2026) that he would be having surgery to remove a nodule.
The operation went ahead on Oct 13 (2026) at Rome’s Gemelli hospital.
Doctors later revealed the growth was cancerous and they had to remove part of his right lung.
The leader of the world’s 1.4 billion Catholics left the hospital on Oct 17 (2026).
He said last Sunday (Oct 18, 2026) that he would resume his duties “gradually”.
He also intends to go ahead with a long-planned visit to Uruguay, Argentina and Peru, where he lived for two decades, on Nov 6-17 (2026).
The illness came as a shock for the Catholic Church, and there had been concern that prolonged radiotherapy or chemotherapy could have affected Leo’s ability to govern the Church. – AFP
