Marcos joins world leaders' prayers, support for Pope Leo after surgery

View of a small altar displaying a photograph of Pope Leo XIV, at a house in Chiclayo, Lambayeque department, northern Peru, on October 11, 2026.

AFP / Ernesto Benavides

MANILA, Philippines — President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has joined other world leaders in expressing support for Pope Leo XIV following a surgery that removed a cancerous lung nodule from the pontiff.

"The entire Filipino nation joins the Catholic faithful around the world in praying for the swift and full recovery of His Holiness Pope Leo XIV," Marcos said in a statement on Thursday, October 15.

Marcos expressed that he was looking forward to the pope's "return to good health" and "to his continued spiritual leadership, guidance and blessings for the faithful."

Leo underwent lung surgery Tuesday, October 13 and is expected to remain in the hospital for a week as part of his post-operation recovery, according to the Vatican's bulletin to the press.

The operation, a minimally invasive thoracic surgery, was completed "successfully," the Vatican said. The surgery removed the lower lobe of the Pope's right lung, where a localized nodule was found.

Further examination of the removed nodule confirmed a diagnosis of lung adenocarcinoma (early-stage lung cancer).

The Pope is now awaiting the results of a biopsy to determine if the cancer has spread.

In an Angelus on Sunday, October 11, Leo announced he was undergoing surgery to remove a "localized nodule in my lung," noting that it is at "a very early stage."

Given the nodule was removed at an early stage, experts, including oncologists, have indicated that Leo's prognosis will likely be excellent.

In the meantime, clergy and members of the Vatican hierarchy have urged the public to continue to pray for the Pope.

At least 3,000 prayers and expressions of support have come from the Philippines in the online global "spiritual bouquet" being collated by the Order of St. Augustine for Leo, who served as prior general of the order from 2001 to 2010. — with reports from AFP