Pope diagnosed with lung cancer but had successful surgery, Vatican says

BREAKING: Pope Leo has been diagnosed with lung cancer and underwent successful surgery to remove the lower lobe of his right lung, the Vatican says.

The Pope has lung cancer. The Vatican confirmed it tonight after surgeons at Rome's Gemelli Hospital removed the entire lower lobe of his right lung, a 90 minute operation they say went well. The diagnosis is pulmonary adenocarcinoma, caught at what doctors called a very early stage during routine checks.

Leo is 71, and he awoke normally after the operation and is recovering on the hospital's tenth floor. Crowds waited hours outside to see him arrive, and he waved and smiled through the car window on his way in. One staff member on the steps told him, I'm sorry. He answered with a shrug and a smile.

His schedule is cleared until October the twentieth, and he reportedly pushed for surgery now because he wants to keep his November trip to Latin America, including Peru, where he served for years as a missionary and bishop. Further tests will show whether the cancer has spread. That answer, more than tonight's bulletin, is the one the world is waiting for.

This is Liu Yang, reporting for HIT.