Papal health news: A sensitive issue for Vatican
Vatican City: From the silence surrounding John XXIII’s cancer to the detailed medical bulletins issued during Francis’s hospitalisations, Vatican communication about popes’ health has gradually opened up over the past half-century. Here are the most recent examples: John XXIII (1958-1963) Elected at 76, the Italian Angelo Giuseppe Roncalli suffered from stomach cancer, which was not diagnosed…
John XXIII, elected in 1958, suffered from stomach cancer, a diagnosis made known only after his death on June 3, 1963. Paul VI, who reigned from 1963 to 1978, dealt with arthritis and age-related issues, passing away from a heart attack on August 6, 1978, aged 80. Leo XIII, elected in 2025, had a lung tumor removed, the first such procedure by a pope, with the Vatican confirming a diagnosis of pulmonary adenocarcinoma and stating Leo's recovery from the operation.
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