Pope Leo XIV arrived on foot at Rome's Gemelli Hospital on Tuesday for surgery to remove a nodule in one of his lungs, walking calmly through the hospital entrance accompanied by his two secretaries and his personal physician, Luigi Carbone.
The 71-year-old pontiff left the Vatican through the Porta del Perugino and greeted the media and well-wishers waiting outside before reaching the hospital at 1:09 p.m. local time. Hundreds of people and journalists had gathered to await his arrival. At the entrance, Carbone introduced the pope to members of the medical team and hospital leadership before the pontiff made his way into the facility, also accompanied by several officers of the Vatican Gendarmerie.
Behind the pope walked his two secretaries, Edgard Rimaycuna, a Peruvian, and Marco Billeri, an Italian. The surgical team will be led by Stefano Margaritora, a thoracic surgeon with thousands of operations to his name. Margaritora, 66, a full professor, has directed the thoracic surgery service at Gemelli Hospital for ten years.
The Vatican is expected to issue a medical bulletin after the procedure, following the practice used during the surgeries undergone by Pope Francis. The pope announced after the Angelus prayer on Sunday that he would undergo surgery to remove a lung nodule, which he said had been detected at a very early stage and was well localized. Sources at the Holy See indicated on Monday that the nodule had been found during a routine medical checkup.
Carbone was appointed by Leo XIV in June of last year as head of the Directorate of Health and Hygiene of the Governorate of Vatican City State, a department where he had served as deputy director for years. Although no specific appointment as papal physician has been made, Carbone coordinates the team of doctors and nurses who care for Leo. He was the physician who attended Pope Francis and now also oversees the health of Leo XIV, accompanying him on his travels.
At 6:00 p.m., the vicar bishop of Rome, Baldassare Reina, has called for the recitation of a rosary in the chapel of Gemelli Hospital to express the closeness of the faithful of the Italian capital to the pope.