Argentina

Buenos Aires, October 14, 2026. The Argentine press is following Léon XIV's operation with a two-pronged approach: the diagnosis, and what it means for the upcoming visit to the country. Infobae, Perfil, and La Nación are reporting the bulletin from the Holy See: on Tuesday, October 13, at the Gemelli in Rome, surgeons removed the lower lobe of the right lung using a video-assisted technique. The histological examination performed during the operation "confirmed the diagnosis of pulmonary adenocarcinoma," according to the Vatican. The procedure lasted approximately 90 minutes for a total of three hours in the operating room, "with success and without complications." A Vatican source cited by AFP, picked up by the Buenos Aires Times, adds that further tests will determine if the cancer has spread.

The media are consulting local specialists. Infobae quotes pneumologist Ana María Putruele (UBA), who is surprised by a lesion of "three millimeters"; according to her, without affecting the lymph nodes or mediastinum, no specific treatment would be required. Ámbito interviews Nicolás Minatta, from the Hospital Austral, who believes that the histological diagnosis is only part of the information: biomarkers and molecular studies will be needed to complete it. La Nación recalls that adenocarcinoma is the most common type of tumor and one of the most treatable.

The most worked-on topic remains the trip from November 6 to 17 to Uruguay, Argentina, and Peru. Ámbito headlines with a diagnosis that "puts his South American tour in doubt" and reports that the government is conditioning the visit on a full recovery without suspending preparations: "The organization continues." MercoPress indicates that the program has not been modified and that, according to Cardinal Kikuchi, the pope had the operation as soon as possible to make the trip. Infobae estimates the cost of the Uruguayan leg at $2.7 million.

The issue of governance is also occupying Ámbito: canon law does not provide for a "vice-pope" or regency, the Curia continues its tasks, and the pope remains the authority. Audiences are canceled until October 20. The register is also emotional: Ámbito compares the operation to that of Francis, who at 21 had the upper lobe of his right lung removed, and Clarín devotes a story to the Gemelli, nicknamed "Vatican III" by John Paul II. The Buenos Aires Times notes that the Vatican, long secretive about the health of popes, has become more transparent under Francis, an Argentine.