Professor Stefano Margaritora, Chair of Thoracic Surgery at the Catholic University of the Sacred Heart and Director of the Complex Operative Unit of Thoracic Surgery at the Agostino Gemelli University Hospital Foundation, has spoken for the first time about the Pope’s operation in an interview signed by Andrea Tornielli and published this Saturday by Vatican News. The conversation coincides with Pope Leo XIV’s hospital discharge; according to Vatican media, he returned to the Vatican on the afternoon of 17 October and is expected to lead the Sunday Angelus from the window of his study.
Asked about the Latin-American tour, the surgeon was clear: in his view, from a medical standpoint, «there are no clinical reasons why it could not take place»—a long journey involving air travel, as scheduled for November. This is, in any case, a clinical assessment, not an official confirmation of the programme by the Holy See.
A chance discovery
Margaritora explained that the tumour was detected purely by chance. During routine abdominal scans, a small spot appeared at the lung bases—an area usually visible in such examinations because of the shape of the diaphragm. According to the specialist, had the lesion been slightly higher, it would not have been seen. The Pope had no respiratory symptoms and felt well.
From this case, the surgeon stressed the importance of prevention and argued that at-risk individuals should undergo periodic checks to detect lung tumours, as already happens with breast- and colon-screening programmes, since this type of cancer often produces no symptoms in its early stages.
A “routine” operation
The physician declined to claim any “heroic feats.” The procedure consisted of removing the lower lobe of the right lung—the standard approach for a tumour of a certain size—and proceeded without complications. At discharge, the Pope’s blood tests were normal, cardiac function was in order, and lung re-expansion was progressing on schedule.
Regarding recovery, Margaritora estimated that a patient needs about two weeks to recover fully after such surgery. As nearly a week had already passed, he calculates that Leo XIV will be fully recovered in about ten more days.
“An ideal patient”
On a personal level, the surgeon acknowledged that operating on a Pope produced an indescribable emotion, especially because, to his knowledge, it is the first time in modern history that a Pontiff has undergone surgery for a malignant tumour. Therefore, he admitted, “a routine procedure cannot be considered humanly routine.”
He also recounted that when the Pope entered the operating theatre, he introduced the team with the words, «Holy Father, this is our dream team», and Leo XIV responded with a smile. He described him as an ideal patient: calm, with very few complaints despite the pain, and always willing to do a little more than asked during physiotherapy. On the second day after surgery, he said, the team was surprised to find the Pope arranging the chapel chairs himself; when told they would do it, he replied: «It doesn’t matter, I can do it, I’ll do it».
Margaritora closed the interview by thanking all Gemelli staff—from nurses and technicians to physiotherapists—as well as the hospital management and the Rector of the Catholic University.