Appointments cancelled through 20 October as pontiff recovers
Pope Leo XIV, the first US-born leader of the Roman Catholic Church, was diagnosed with lung cancer and had the lower lobe of his right lung surgically removed, the Vatican announced Tuesday. The Vatican described the operation as “successful, on schedule and as planned” and said Leo had “now returned to his room” afterward.
Leo, 71, leads a global church of approximately 1.4 billion members.
All of Leo’s scheduled appointments have been cancelled through 20 October, the Vatican said.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, a practising Catholic who has met the pope, said he and his wife were “united in prayers” for Leo after the diagnosis.