Chicago Catholics Gather at Holy Name Cathedral to Pray for Pope Leo XIV After Lung Cancer Diagnosis
Catholics in Chicago and worldwide are rallying in prayer and support after Pope Leo XIV, the first American-born pope, announced his lung cancer diagnosis and underwent surgery to remove the lower lobe of his right lung.
CHICAGO — Catholics in Chicago and around the world are responding with prayer and support after Pope Leo XIV, the first American-born pontiff, announced he has lung cancer and underwent surgery to remove the lower lobe of his right lung. The 71-year-old pope disclosed that he had a nodule and was undergoing an operation, which confirmed lung adenocarcinoma, the most common form of lung cancer. Surgeons performed the procedure on Tuesday.
At Holy Name Cathedral in Chicago on Wednesday, a Mass dedicated to the Chicago-born pope drew a full church. Gail Spreen, a parishioner who attends Mass most days just blocks from her home, said the service felt different. «Knowing that everybody is behind him, it was very special to be there today,» she said. «The church was full and everybody was praying. You could just see all those prayers going up and being received.» Spreen, whose husband died from cancer, said the pope's decision to go public with his diagnosis could «wake up the whole world» to the importance of early detection. «If the pope can have cancer, anybody can,» she said.
Leo's candor about his health broke with the Vatican's tendency to be tight-lipped about papal medical matters. The pope himself announced the nodule and the surgery, a level of openness that has resonated with Catholics. Cardinal Blase J. Cupich, archbishop of Chicago, encouraged Chicagoans and people worldwide to «join me in asking the Lord to return this son of Chicago to wellness.» He added: «He has much more good work to do, many more wise words to preach and many more ways to inspire others.»
Born in 1955 in the Bronzeville neighborhood on Chicago's South Side, Leo grew up in suburban Dolton, near St. Mary of the Assumption, where he attended Mass and elementary school. He later studied theology at the Catholic Theological Union of Chicago in Hyde Park and taught at local Catholic schools, including St. Rita High School. Though he undertook his ministry in Peru, his Chicago roots remain a source of pride. He is also a White Sox fan, a fact the team has embraced.
Earlier Wednesday, students at Our Lady of Mount Carmel Academy made get-well cards and assembled a care package that included a White Sox blanket to send to the Vatican. The Rev. Charles Rubey, a retired priest, planned to offer a Sunday Mass in the apartment where he lives in the Chicago suburbs. «I'm praying very hard, asking God to spare him illness, so he'll be successful in the treatment,» Rubey said. «I think he's a hero. He's highly revered here, highly loved.»
The Vatican said late Wednesday that the pope had celebrated Mass with his secretaries in the afternoon in a special chapel set up for him on the 10th floor of the hospital. He had also resumed his regular diet and begun walking.
For Katrina Coker of Johns Creek, Georgia, Leo has been an authentic embodiment of true Catholicism, which she said should be open, welcoming and loving. Coker, who happened to be in Chicago this week, wanted to attend Mass in his hometown to pray for his recovery. «I feel somewhat of a kindred spirit, and hopefully he can get a little bit of healing from home,» she said. «I think there's just so much more that he can do, and I pray that he gets well soon.»
The diagnosis has prompted an outpouring of prayer from Catholics worldwide, with many expressing shock and concern alongside their support. The pope's willingness to share his health struggle has been widely noted as a departure from past practice, and his recovery is being closely followed by the faithful in Chicago and beyond.
9
