Pope to arrive at the Policlinico Gemelli this morning
The Pope is to undergo surgery to remove a lump from his lung. His post-operative hospital stay is expected to last a week
Key points
Pope Leo XIV is expected to arrive this morning at the Gemelli Hospital in Rome, where he will be admitted for an operation on a localised lump in his lung. The operation will take place this afternoon – Tuesday 13th – or tomorrow – Wednesday 14th October – and the Pope’s hospital stay will last around a week, according to Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni. This means that Leo XIV will be unable to attend the closing ceremony of the meeting on the family, scheduled for tomorrow, which he convened to mark the tenth anniversary of Pope Francis’s apostolic exhortation ‘Amoris laetitia’. However, next Sunday the Pope may lead the Angelus whilst appearing from the tenth floor of the hospital, as has already happened with some of his predecessors. And the trip to Peru, scheduled for 11 to 17 November, remains confirmed.
Who is Leo XIV’s doctor?
Luigi Carbone is the head of the Vatican’s Health and Hygiene Directorate – appointed by Provost himself in June 2025 – and the coordinator of the medical staff who look after the Pope. A specialist in emergency medicine and A&E, Carbone has extensive experience at the Policlinico Gemelli and was also at Pope Francis’s side during his hospitalisation last spring. Whilst the Vatican’s healthcare organisation is based on collaboration between doctors, nurses and specialists, Carbone plays a key role within this system: he ensures continuity of care, arranges the necessary interventions and coordinates healthcare resources according to the Pope’s needs. His role draws on the ancient tradition of the ‘archiater’, that is, the Pope’s personal physician.
How the Popes’ health communications have changed
Pope Francis has accustomed the public to receiving fairly regular and transparent updates on his state of health. Communication on this subject has become more frequent in recent years, with the public sharing of medical bulletins, updates from the Vatican Press Office and various statements. The announcement regarding Leo XIV is part of this trend towards openness, which has enabled the faithful and journalists to follow the development of the Popes’ medical conditions more closely, in contrast to the tendency towards secrecy that characterised the papal environment for decades.
What’s the matter with the Pope?
A sort of small coin with a diameter of less than 3 centimetres: this is what the nodule in Leo XIV’s lung looks like. It is an isolated opacity which, on X-ray images, appears denser than the surrounding tissue. A nodule, particularly if it is smaller than 6 millimetres, should not automatically be assumed to be a malignant tumour: there may be benign conditions, such as scarring from old infections, small inflammatory granulomas or autoimmune changes. Minimally invasive techniques, which have brought about major advances in the field of thoracic surgery, allow procedures to be carried out with smaller incisions and facilitate a speedy recovery.
