The Archdiocese of Los Angeles encouraged Catholics to pray for Pope Leo XIV Tuesday following the Vatican’s announcement that the pontiff has lung cancer and underwent surgery in Rome to remove part of his right lung.
Archbishop José H. Gomez and the faithful throughout the archdiocese are continuing to pray for the 71-year-old pope, according to a statement from the archdiocese Tuesday.
The archdiocese is also collecting prayers for the pontiff as part of a spiritual bouquet, inviting Catholics to submit their prayers through a webpage at lacatholics.org/praying-for-pope-leo/.
The Vatican announced Tuesday that surgery at Rome’s Gemelli Hospital confirmed that Leo has pulmonary adenocarcinoma, a form of lung cancer.
Surgeons removed the lower lobe of his right lung using a video-assisted technique during an operation that lasted about 90 minutes. The Vatican said the pope spent approximately three hours in the operating room.
The surgery was successful, with no complications, and the pope regained consciousness normally before returning to his hospital room, according to the Vatican.
The Vatican did not disclose the stage of the cancer or whether it had spread.
The archdiocese’s webpage includes a prayer for the pope’s recovery and a message he delivered Sunday, when he announced that doctors had discovered a small nodule in his lung.
“I thank you for your spiritual closeness and entrust myself to your prayers,” Leo said.
The prayer posted by the archdiocese asks the Virgin Mary to intercede for the pontiff.
“Intercede for Pope Leo, that he may be restored to health or granted the spiritual grace necessary to endure this affliction for the love of Christ,” the prayer states.
Leo, the first American pope, entered Gemelli Hospital on Tuesday after doctors recommended removing the lung nodule discovered during medical testing.
The Vatican canceled his scheduled audiences through Oct. 20. It was unclear whether his planned trip to South America, scheduled to begin Nov. 6, would proceed.
The Roman Catholic Diocese of Orange did not immediately respond to a request for comment.