The Holy See Press Office reported this Tuesday, October 13, that Leo XIV had been admitted to the Agostino Gemelli University Hospital “for hospitalization.”
According to the Vatican statement, the procedure will take place this afternoon under the thoracic surgery team led by Professor Stefano Margaritora. The communiqué announced that further information would be released during the night.
The Pontiff arrived at the hospital in an armored sedan, accompanied by his personal physician, Luigi Carbone, head of the Vatican Governorate’s Directorate of Health and Hygiene.
Upon arrival, he was received by the President of the Gemelli Policlinic Foundation, Daniele Franco; the General Director, Daniele Piacentini; and the Medical Director, Andrea Cambieri.
An announcement made by the Pope himself
It was Leo XIV who made the news public on Sunday, October 11, after the Angelus prayer. He explained to the faithful that doctors had found a small nodule localized in the lung, “detected at a very early stage,” and that he had decided to undergo surgery to remove it.
The day before his admission, the Press Office announced that, due to the hospitalization, all audiences of the Holy Father are canceled until Tuesday, October 20.
For decades, the Gemelli has been the reference center for pontiffs. Saint John Paul II was admitted there on numerous occasions, and Francis underwent its operating rooms in 2021 and 2023 before his long hospitalization for bilateral pneumonia in 2025.
The trip to Latin America on the horizon
Cardinal Tarcisio Isao Kikuchi, Archbishop of Tokyo and President of Caritas Internationalis, was received by the Pope on Monday, October 12.
In statements to EWTN News, he recounted that Leo XIV assured him that this is a minor operation and that he feels no discomfort.
According to the cardinal, the Pope explained that he had chosen to have the surgery as soon as possible so as not to have to alter his pastoral visit to Latin America.
This is indirect testimony, not a medical bulletin, but it aligns with the serene tone of the Sunday announcement.
The apostolic journey to Uruguay, Argentina, and Peru is scheduled for November. Peru holds particular significance for Robert Prevost, who served as an Augustinian missionary in the country and as Bishop of Chiclayo from 2015 to 2023.
Rome and Chiclayo in prayer
The Pope’s Vicar for the Diocese of Rome, Cardinal Baldassare Reina, will preside at 6:00 p.m. over the recitation of the Holy Rosary in the Saint John Paul II Chapel at the Gemelli itself.
He has invited parishes, religious communities, and ecclesial realities in Rome and around the world to join at the same hour, entrusting the Holy Father to the intercession of the Virgin Mary.
In Chiclayo, Bishop Edinson Farfán, also an Augustinian, celebrated Mass on Monday evening for the Pontiff’s health in the Cathedral of Santa María, which was filled with the faithful.
Bishops from the United States to the Philippines, the Order of Saint Augustine, and several Latin American governments have likewise expressed their closeness to the Pope in these hours.