Pope Leo Makes His First Message After Lung Cancer Diagnosis

Pope Leo XIV has thanked fellow Catholics for their prayers on Wednesday in his first message since he underwent surgery for lung cancer in Rome.

Leo was diagnosed with pulmonary adenocarcinoma, a common type of lung cancer, during a 90-minute surgery in Rome yesterday, wherein doctors removed the lower lobe of one of his lungs, according to medical staff who treated the pontiff.

He said, “As you know, I have been unable to be among you during these days,” Leo wrote in a statement to Catholics participating in a symposium for the 10th anniversary of Amoris laetitia, a document written by his predecessor Pope Francis on the church’s work with couples and families.

“I thank you warmly for your prayers and for the work you have done together. Your sharing of experiences and attentive listening are indeed a gift to the whole Church,” he said. “I ask you, please, to pray for me, as I pray for you.”

The pope’s recovery is “proceeding as expected,” Dr Luigi Carbone and Professor Stefano Margaritora said in their statement. Leo was able to walk around his quarters in the hospital, and the Vatican’s spokesperson said Wednesday that the pontiff jointly celebrated Mass with other priests in a room specially set up on his floor.

The pope announced his planned surgery in a speech over the weekend to faithful in St. Peter’s Square, saying that the “growth” on his lung was found at an early stage.

The pope isn’t known to be a smoker and has made efforts to have a healthy lifestyle, but there is a history of cancer in his immediate family. His older brother Louis Prevost is currently in treatment for cancer, and their parents died of the disease in the 1990s.