Priests and parishioners in Pope Leo XIV’s hometown of Chicago expressed shock, support and hope Wednesday after doctors discovered that a nodule removed from his lung was cancerous.
“It was a shock to everyone. “So we totally believe he’ll be okay. Born Robert Francis Prevost on Chicago’s South Side in 1955, the 71-year-old pontiff is the first American-born pope and has been warmly embraced by US Catholics since he was elected last May.
I have to say my husband passed away from cancer, so I know that feeling,” said Gail Spreen after coming out of a service at Holy Name Cathedral in Chicago. “He is a strong person, and he has so many people that are behind him and are praying for him,” she said.
He retains strong ties to Chicago and is a lifelong fan of the Chicago White Sox baseball team, whose stadium is on the South Side of the city.
Father Louis Cameli, a priest at Holy Name Cathedral, said the news was “not just a medical event” but a “spiritual summons” to trust God. “Of course there’s great concern and a certain kind of sadness, but at the same time, this has really, I think, provoked people to pray, reaffirm their trust in God, and put him in God’s hands,” Cameli said. The pope was walking and eating Wednesday after the operation, and post-surgery tests showed his progress was normal, his doctors said. “You know, like I said in my homily the other day, he’s from the South Side, so he’s tough… and I think he’ll roll forward.”
