Top Vatican official says pope’s cancer diagnosis a ‘game-changer’ for the papacy

ROME — Even though Pope Leo XIV is recovering well from lung cancer surgery and is going ahead with a big trip to Latin America next week, the diagnosis is “a bit of a game-changer” for the Vatican and Leo’s still-young papacy, a top Vatican official said Tuesday.

Archbishop Paul Richard Gallagher, the Holy See’s foreign minister, said there had been a temptation to think that Leo was a “Superman, a Superpope” after he was elected in 2025 and “hit the ground running” following the drawn-out illness and death of Pope Francis.

“The fact that he has fallen ill with, in many ways, one of the most common illnesses of our age means that he is a poor mortal like the rest of us. And I think that that is going to change how we see him and possibly how he sees himself as well,” Gallagher told reporters at the Italian foreign press association.

“Even if the operation has gone well, and everybody (says) there are grounds for considerable optimism, I think it is a bit of a game-changer at the same time,” Gallagher said.

Leo, 71, had the lower lobe of his right lung removed Oct. 13 after doctors found a tumor, later diagnosed as adenocarcinoma, the most common form of lung cancer. Subsequent tests indicated no further treatment is necessary, and Leo has been slowly resuming his daily activities.

The Vatican this week confirmed Leo would go ahead with his planned Nov. 6-17 trip to Uruguay, Argentina and Peru, without any changes to the program. The published trip itinerary is challenging even for a healthy pope, with a dozen flights and two helicopter rides covering 31,000 kilometers (19,000 miles), the longest of Leo’s pontificate.

Asked why Leo didn’t postpone the trip so he could recover further, Gallagher said the pope simply wanted to go. Leo spent two decades as a missionary priest in Peru, where he has citizenship, and has made clear his close attachment to its people and his former diocese of Chiclayo.

“All of the medical advice is very positive, from a clinical point of view, so he feels he can go,” he said.

Gallagher, a British veteran of the Vatican’s diplomatic service, also predicted that the Chicago-born Leo would in the “not-too-distant future” visit his native United States. But he said the outcome of next month’s midterm elections might influence whether the trip comes in 2027 or later.

The Vatican generally tries to avoid papal trips to countries in the throes of national election campaigns to avoid allowing the governing powers to use the pope for political benefit. U.S. presidential elections are scheduled for November 2028.

Preliminary discussions on an eventual U.S. trip have included timing it to coincide with the U.N. General Assembly gathering in the fall, or alongside a possible stop in Mexico, though Gallagher stressed that no firm plans are in place.

“He’s, I think, quite keen to visit the Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe at some point,” Gallagher said, referring to the immensely popular pilgrimage destination where past popes have visited.

Gallagher also said it was “highly likely” that Leo would travel to Australia in 2028 to close out a big church meeting in Sydney, the International Eucharistic Congress. Other big trips expected are to South Korea in August 2027 for World Youth Day.

Gallagher, who served as foreign minister under Pope Francis as well, shared some insights about working with Leo after the sometimes turbulent Francis pontificate, which was characterized by the Argentine pope’s spontaneity, grand gestures and occasional diplomatic gaffes.

Leo, he said, is pensive, thinks things through and is “not impetuous.” The math major pope can read a spreadsheet and is extremely well-informed, asking follow-up questions, such that when Gallagher meets with him each Wednesday evening to brief him on pressing foreign policy issues, “nearly everything I say he knows already.”

At the same time, Leo is tight-lipped and holds his cards close. Gallagher revealed he didn’t know about Leo’s planned surgery until the pope announced it to the world on Oct. 11 at his weekly Sunday blessing. He said he still doesn’t really know what the pope is thinking down the line.

“I think he’ll stick to his plan. And he will stick to revealing his plan, because he’s not the sort of personality who shares a lot in what he’s thinking of doing in three or four years’ time,” he said.

Gallagher said what has struck him most working with Leo is his serenity, focus on preaching the Gospel and dealing with issues as they come along. And he rejected speculation that the Italian-centric Vatican bureaucracy would eventually have its way and thwart his agenda.

“I don’t think the Curia will eat him up. I think if there’s any indication of that, he will demonstrate that he too has an appetite,” Gallagher said to laughs.

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