Cancer Strikes the American Pope

Surgeons remove the lower lobe of Leo XIV’s right lung. The Vatican reports a successful operation, while further testing lies ahead.

LUTHMANN NOTE: I’m praying for Pope Leo. No qualifications, no detour into Vatican politics. A cancer diagnosis is enough to stop the argument and remember the human being. I’m grateful the doctors reported a successful operation, and I’ll be watching for what the next tests establish. But the bishops were right to widen the prayer beyond one hospital room. Somebody reading this is waiting for a biopsy result. Somebody else is trying to find words for the kids. They deserve our attention, too. Pray for the Holy Father. Then call the person you know who’s going through this. Let them hear your voice. This piece is “Cancer Strikes the American Pope.”

By Richard Luthmann

The diagnosis was cancer. By Tuesday evening, Pope Leo XIV was asking for dinner.

Between those two facts stood a surgical team at Rome’s Gemelli Hospital, a 90-minute operation, and the removal of the lower lobe of the pontiff’s right lung. The Vatican reported that the procedure succeeded without complications. Tissue examined during surgery confirmed lung adenocarcinoma.

The operation was over. The medical questions were not. Further examination of the removed tissue will follow in the coming days.

For the 71-year-old Chicago native and first American pope, Tuesday brought the kind of news that cuts through every title a person carries. Cancer does not distinguish between a hospital patient known only to his family and a pontiff whose condition commands the world’s attention.

Both need skilled doctors. Both need people who care.

Leo had told the public himself that surgery was coming. After Sunday’s Angelus, he disclosed that doctors had found a small, localized lung nodule during recent examinations. He said it had been detected early and that he had accepted their recommendation to have it removed.

“I thank you for your spiritual closeness and entrust myself to your prayers,” he said.

That request has traveled far beyond St. Peter’s Square.

Professor Stefano Margaritora led the surgical team. Doctors used a video-assisted technique, and Leo spent approximately three hours in the operating room, including the 90-minute procedure. He awoke normally, underwent a brief observation period, and returned to his room on the hospital’s 10th floor.

Then came dinner and an evening with his secretaries and Vatican staff, according to Holy See spokesman Matteo Bruni. The anticipated hospital stay remains about a week, with another update expected Wednesday.

Those are encouraging developments. They do not make a cancer diagnosis disappear. A successful operation is welcome news; the laboratory work still matters.

The response from Catholics has been immediate and personal. As Vatican News reported, bishops and faithful across the Americas and Europe began offering prayers after Leo announced the planned surgery. Church leaders in Peru, Argentina, and Uruguay asked for strength, peace, and recovery for the Holy Father.

After the diagnosis became public, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops urged continued prayers for Leo and his medical team. Their appeal also embraced other people living with cancer, their families, and their caregivers.

That deserves attention. The pope’s illness makes international news. Countless other diagnoses arrive without cameras, without a Vatican bulletin, without anyone beyond a frightened family knowing what happened that afternoon.

Their suffering belongs in the same prayers.

New York Archbishop Ronald Hicks expressed gratitude for the successful surgery. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said he and his wife, Jeanette, were praying for the pontiff and asked for divine guidance for the professionals caring for him, according to EWTN’s coverage of the response.

There will be time for the arguments that surround any papacy. Tonight, I’m praying for the man in the hospital bed.

For Catholics, prayer belongs beside the surgeon’s work, the nurse’s rounds, and the next laboratory report. Faith does not require pretending the danger is gone. It gives people somewhere to bring the fear while they wait.

Leo asked the faithful to pray. The answer should be simple.

Pray for his recovery. Pray for the people treating him. And remember the patient down the hall whose name will never lead a headline.