Vatican: From today, the Gemelli Hospital will be featured on television channels around the world for Pope Leo XIV’s operation

Television crews from all over the world – but particularly from the United States – are flocking to Rome. As of today, the Pope is being treated at the Policlinico Gemelli, and the cameras stationed in the square in front of the hospital, next to the statue of John Paul II, will be trained on the window on the tenth floor, where the apartment always reserved for the Pope is located. There is undoubtedly a sense of déjà vu at the hospital, which is welcoming its first American Pope as an in-patient for the first time, just a year and a half after Pope Francis’s last stay there. Outside the hospital – reports Ansa – there have been numerous media crews, photographers and news presenters since yesterday, and they have been at work since this morning to cover the imminent hospital stay of the 71-year-old Pope, which, however, does not appear to be a cause for particular concern at present.

One can also sense the discreet presence of Vatican staff awaiting the Pope’s arrival, manning a number of restricted access routes, whilst at the Policlinico there is the usual bustle of patients who, as on every Monday, flock to one of the capital’s most important hospital complexes. On the tenth floor, where, as mentioned, the flat reserved for Popes during hospital stays is located – a place that instantly became famous in May 1981 when the assassination attempt on John Paul II took place – access is already restricted, albeit in an extremely discreet manner. After all, the Gemelli is vast, and only the wing in question will see any changes to the usual routine, which sees thousands of people – including staff and inpatients – coming and going every day.

Leone XIV is due to arrive at the Policlinico Gemelli later this morning, where he will undergo an operation to remove a lump on his lung which he himself mentioned yesterday at the end of Sunday’s Angelus. It has not yet been announced when the operation will take place – most likely tomorrow, though some are already suggesting today, Tuesday 13 October – which is expected to be carried out by the team led by Professor Stefano Margaritora, director of the Complex Operative Unit for Thoracic Surgery at Gemelli Hospital. The biopsy will then determine the diagnosis and any necessary treatment. The press office has reiterated that the localised lump was detected during a routine check-up, although medical experts consulted point out that a CT scan is nevertheless necessary, and it is therefore likely that the Pope visited a medical facility in recent days to undergo this examination. The post-operative recovery period will last one week, as has been explained, and naturally the Pontiff’s schedule will be subject to changes, starting with the summit dedicated to the family marking the tenth anniversary of thethe apostolic exhortation *Amoris Laetitia*, and the Pope has asked that the final document not be published, as he wishes to review it himself once he is discharged from hospital: Cardinal Tagle, as the newly appointed Dean, will celebrate Mass tomorrow at the conclusion of the meeting. As things stand, there is uncertainty regarding the engagement in Assisi on 27 October, whilst there is greater confidence regarding the trip to Latin America scheduled for 6–17 October.