A top Vatican diplomat has issued a warning about the Pope's health after saying Leo's diagnosis was a "game changer".
The Pope, 71, was diagnosed with lung adenocarcinoma, the most common form of lung cancer, last week following surgery to remove the lower lobe of his right lung on Tuesday. The Pontiff is due to leave Rome's Gemelli Hospital today after undergoing the procedure on Tuesday, and is set to return to public engagements by leading Sunday prayers from his apartments in Vatican City.
His return will be welcomed by top officials, but the experience has left some urging caution and warning it will "make things different" at The Vatican.
Archbishop's warning
Speaking to the BBC, Archbishop Paul Gallagher, the British diplomat who has served as the Vatican's foreign minister since 2014, warned the Pope's health may have been taken "a little bit for granted". He told BBC Radio 4's The Sunday Programme, which is set to air tomorrow: "I think we were maybe taking him a little bit for granted."
The Archbishop added the diagnosis would be a "game changer" as "things have got to be sorted out" when he returns to his duties. He said: "It's in some ways I think going to be a bit of a game changer after having the latter years of Pope Francis when he was in the wheelchair. And Pope Leo comes along and he's sporty and he seems to be in excellent health, and now we're told that he's not in excellent health and things have got to be sorted out."
Predecessor's health struggles
Leo's predecessor, Pope Francis, was in and out of hospital during his last year as pope in 2025, having been admitted on February 14 that year for a polymicrobial respiratory infection. The infection later developed into severe bilateral pneumonia, asthmatic bronchitis, and bronchietactasis, all conditions of the lung. He died on April 21 at the age of 88.
There was some secrecy surrounding his final months, which Leo has notably avoided in his approach to his own health difficulties. The current Pope announced last Sunday to the faithful gathered in St Peter's Square that doctors had identified a nodule on his lung, and that it would be removed.
Recovery progress
Since the surgery on Tuesday that confirmed the cancer diagnosis, Leo has given strong indications that he was recovering well, including by holding a phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin, meeting with top aides and celebrating Mass in a hospital chapel. Spare medical bulletins from his personal physician and surgeon likewise indicated a good post-operative recovery that had allowed him to carry on "normal daily activities completely on his own."
