The Vatican on Tuesday said Pope Leo XIV’s surgery to remove a nodule from his lungs confirms he has cancer.

“An intraoperative histological examination confirmed the diagnosis of lung adenocarcinoma, as suspected from the preoperative examinations,” the Vatican said in a statement.

The diagnosis followed the pope’s “thoracic surgery”, which the Vatican said “was successful, and there were no complications”.

“To ensure a radical resection, the lower lobe of his right lung was removed using a video-assisted technique,” the Vatican said, adding, “The holy father was in the operating room for approximately three hours; the operation itself lasted about 90 minutes.”

According to Harvard Health, adenocarcinoma of the lung is a type of non-small cell lung cancer. 

“It occurs when abnormal lung cells multiply out of control and form a tumour. Eventually, tumour cells can spread (metastasise) to other parts of the body, including the lymph nodes around and between the lungs, liver, bones, adrenal glands and brain,” Harvard Health said.