Pope Leo XIV’s doctors say X-ray ‘showed good recovery’ after lung surgery: Vatican

( NewsNation ) — The Vatican provided encouraging news from Pope Leo XIV’s doctors about his recovery after he underwent surgery earlier this week to remove part of his right lung and was diagnosed with cancer.

On the 71-year-old American pope’s third day in the hospital, he “underwent routine checks,” including a chest X-ray that “showed good recovery of the lung that underwent surgery,” the pope’s doctors said in a statement from the Vatican’s press office.

“He carried out his daily activities independently. His physiotherapy session included a full range of physical activities,” doctors added. “Overall, his postoperative recovery is progressing normally.”

Leo had surgery Tuesday afternoon to remove what he called a “small, localized nodule” from his lung. Following the operation, doctors confirmed that Leo has a common type of lung cancer called lung adenocarcinoma “as suspected from the preoperative examinations.”

At the time of this reporting, the Vatican hasn’t announced any changes to Leo’s previously announced one-week hospitalization.

NewsNation’s Josie Fischels contributed to this report.