Pope Leo XIV smiles as a person takes a cellphone photo as the pontiff arrives at Rome\u2019s Gemelli Hospital Oct. 13, 2026, ahead of his surgery that afternoon to remove a lung nodule. (OSV News photo\/Ciro De Luca, Reuters)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\u201cThe surgery was successful, completed on schedule and as planned, and the Holy Father has returned to his room,\u201d the Holy See Press Office said in a statement issued shortly before 8 p.m.<\/p>\n
Pope Leo was expected to remain for one week of recovery in Rome\u2019s Gemelli Hospital, located atop Monte Mario, the highest hill in Rome. The Vatican has canceled all of the pope\u2019s scheduled audiences through Oct. 20.<\/p>\n
The hospital\u2019s chapel was overflowing with people on Tuesday evening as Cardinal Baldassare Reina, the vicar general of the Diocese of Rome, led a rosary for the pope\u2019s healing as people anxiously awaited the results of the pope\u2019s operation.<\/p>\n
Among those who came to pray was Sister Alphonsa Manikkathan from India\u2019s state of Kerala and her fellow sisters from the Daughters of Divine Providence whose residence is located near the hospital.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe pray for the pope every day, not only today,\u201d Sister Alphonsa told OSV News. \u201cJesus said wherever two or more are gathered and pray for something, he will give. So for his fast recovery, we are praying.\u201d<\/p>\n
Father Miguel Silvestre Bengoa from Spain also joined in the rosary at the hospital. \u201cIf the pope is suffering, we also suffer with him,\u201d he said. \u201cBut we want also to see him again in the Vatican.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was so nice to be close to the pope in this same hospital,\u201d the priest said. \u201cWe entrust the health of the pope to the hands of Our Lady.\u201d<\/p>\n
Pope Leo\u2019s operation took place just days after he first revealed to the world that he needed surgery at the end of his Angelus address in St. Peter\u2019s Square on Oct. 11.<\/p>\n
Speaking from the window of the Apostolic Palace, the pope announced that doctors had discovered a nodule in his lung during a medical examination, adding that the growth was detected \u201cat a very early stage\u201d and it was \u201cwell-contained.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe doctors believe intervention is advisable, so, following their advice, I have decided to undergo surgery to have it removed,\u201d Pope Leo said.<\/p>\n
Since the pope\u2019s announcement, prayers and messages of support have poured in from around the globe from prime ministers, presidents, religious leaders and Catholic bishops.<\/p>\n
This was the second hospitalization in the 71-year-old pope\u2019s life, according to a recently published biography. Shortly after his election, Pope Leo said that he had only been hospitalized once in his life before becoming pope when he caught typhoid fever after recently arriving as an Augustinian missionary in Peru in 1985.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s the only time in my life I\u2019ve been hospitalized,\u201d Pope Leo is quoted as saying in the book, \u201cPope Leo XIV\u201d by Elise Ann Allen, calling it \u201ca very significant\u201d moment in his life that helped him more sharply focus on his new ministry.<\/p>\n
Pope Leo\u2019s surgery occurred less than one month before he was scheduled to depart for South America for what would be the longest international trip of his pontificate Nov. 6 to 17, with stops in Uruguay, Argentina and Peru. The Vatican has not yet announced any changes to the trip.<\/p>\n
Courtney Mares is Vatican editor for OSV News. Follow her on X @catholicourtney.<\/em><\/p>\n\n
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