Pope Leo XIV was diagnosed with lung cancer following a surgery to remove the lower lobe of his right lung, the Vatican said.
The surgery was successful, the Vatican said, and the Villanova graduate is recovering in his room at Rome’s Gemelli hospital.
Leo said Sunday that a small, localized nodule had been discovered on his lung and announced that he would have it removed.
The cancer diagnosis is the result of a pre-operation examination, and the exact diagnosis is lung adenocarcinoma, the Vatican said.
Oncologists said prior to the operation that even if the nodule turned out to be cancerous, Leo’s prognosis is “excellent” since it will have been removed at an early stage. However, the stage of the cancer has not yet been determined and it is still unclear if the cancer has spread to other parts of the body.
The Vatican on Monday canceled all Leo’s audiences through Oct. 20.
Pope Leo, before his surgery was scheduled for Tuesday, was scheduled to award Villanova University’s inaugural Pope Leo XIV Sustainability Medal at the Vatican. The ceremony still went on as planned at the Vatican without Pope Leo, and the award was presented a Czech-born Canadian Jesuit, Cardinal Michael Czerny, who currently serves as serves as the Prefect of the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development for the Vatican.
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