Pope Leo Diagnosed with Cancer

By Sue Kientz

One day after reports that Pope Leo XIV underwent surgery for a small nodule on his lung, the Vatican announced that the pontiff has cancer. (1) While the surgery that removed the nodule and a lower lobe of his right lung was successful, no further word on next steps was provided except that short update. Just two days earlier, however, during his Sunday blessing and prayer, he announced to the crowd that doctors had found a “small, localized nodule” on his lung and characterized it as “very early stage,” even as his doctors insisted on the planned surgery to be on the safe side. (2)

Medical experts are already weighing in that it’s good news for Pope Leo that the nodule observed is very early stage, and that he had surgery to remove part of his lung. Dr. Sudish Murthy told The New York Times that surgical intervention is typical and, if early-stage cancer is detected, survival rates are high. (1) Nevertheless, with the first American pope’s papacy a mere year-and-a-half old, this news is a shock to the nearly billion and a half Catholics worldwide as well as many other admirers of the pope. Certainly, many are already praying, saying rosaries, and lighting candles for the pope’s full recovery.

Astrologers will also certainly look up Pope Leo’s birth chart to see what planetary alignments give clues as to the pope’s medical outlook. Born Robert Francis Prevost on 14 September 1955 in Chicago, IL, (3) Pope Leo has Sun (20 Virgo) sextile (60 degrees; supportive, helpful) Saturn (17 Scorpio) and square (90 degrees; challenging, requiring work/effort) large asteroid Pallas (14 Sagittarius), representative of a calm and patient manner (Saturn) while also indicating Pope Leo is a fighter – for good (Pallas, named for Pallas Athena, goddess of wisdom noted for her judgement, battle strategy, and discipline). (4) This has been observed in his occasional battle of words with U.S. President Trump. (5) A fighting spirit is essential for someone facing a medical crisis, so this is a welcome trait for anyone to have. Pallas Athena herself was known to heal, says Drs. Shampo and Kyle in an article on Medical Mythology, and stories of her healing powers led her statue in the Acropolis to be placed next to Hygeia, goddess of Healing. (6) So Pallas is doubly welcome to see in Pope Leo’s natal chart.

Right now this medical setback has disturbed the pope, with Mars (8 Leo) semisquare (45 degrees; minor inconvenience, annoyance) his Sun in recent days – Mars symbolic of a physical problem or injury. Venus (6 Scorpio) in Retrograde (7) is also semisquare his Sun, and indeed his relationships and outward facing duties (all Venus) are affected by his hospitalization and recovery, with the Vatican cancelling his public appearances until October 22. (1) In the coming months, Pluto (3 Aquarius) and dwarf planet Haumea (3 Scorpio) will respectively sesquiquadrate (135 degrees; something to be endured, troublesome) and semisquare Pope Leo’s Sun. Pluto and Haumea represent the power of one’s will (Pluto) and the power to change one’s situation (Haumea), (8) perhaps symbolic of the various tiresome yet necessary medical interventions that may be required for the pope to get completely well.

One bright spot is that the Sun (20 Libra) at the time of his health news release, is sextile Leo’s natal Jupiter (19 Leo) as well as transiting Jupiter (21 Leo). The sun represents one’s life as well as health, and since Jupiter confers good luck and an expansive attitude about one’s situation, the Sun sextile transiting Jupiter as well as sextile his personal Jupiter are both very encouraging.  Jupiter in Leo has basically “returned” to Pope Leo’s birth Jupiter position, which signals a new cycle of opportunity, travel, and outreach to others – again, that suggests there is reason for optimism that he will be active and engaged in no time.

A rosy picture is far from unwarranted in the pope’s situation. Vatican doctors will take excellent care of the Holy Father in the coming days and weeks. The public should be encouraged that his condition was promptly and honestly announced to the world as soon as it was confirmed, and therefore updates should be delivered in a similar fashion.

Title Image credit: Story and issues described by author to ChatGPT, which generated the above Image.

Notes and References

1. Povoledo, Elisabetta, “Pope Leo Found to Have Lung Cancer During Surgery, Vatican Says,” 13 October 2026, The New York Times, https://www.nytimes.com/2026/10/13/world/europe/pope-leo-lung-surgery.html
2. Povoledo, Elisabetta, “Pope Leo Will Have Surgery to Remove Growth on Lung,” 11 October 2026, The New York Times, https://www.nytimes.com/2026/10/11/world/europe/pope-leo-lung-surgery.html
3. Pope Leo XIV (Robert Francis Prevost), 14 September 1955, Chicago, IL, (no time available; 7 a.m. used), https://www.astro.com/astro-databank/Pope_Leo_XIV
4. “Athena, Greek Mythology,” Mythology Stories, https://www.mythologystories.net/mythology/greek/characters/athena
5. Brangham, W., and R.C. Holmes, “Trump clashes with Pope Leo, who vows to continue speaking out against war,” 13 April 2026, PBS, https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/trump-clashes-with-pope-leo-who-vows-to-continue-speaking-out-against-war
6. Shampo, Marc A., and R.A. Kyle, “Medical Mythology: Pallas Athena (Minerva),” Mayo Clinic Proceedings, https://www.mayoclinicproceedings.org/article/S0025-6196(12)61584-5/fulltext
7. All planets move retrograde, or backwards in degrees as observed from Earth, at some point during their orbit of the Sun. This optical illusion is due to the position of Earth sometimes moving faster than other solar system bodies, so the retrograde object seems to drift backwards in the sky. With Mercury and Venus, their movements around the Sun require them to pass in front of the Sun from Earth’s perspective, which appears as backward motion. Eventually the body “stops” (in astrological terms, “stations”) and resumes forward motion. Sun and Moon never appear to move retrograde.
8. Kientz, Sue, “Pluto and Haumea: Having Power, and Using that Power,” eNews newsletter of The National Council for Geocosmic Research, Inc. (NCGR), Issue 215, June 30, 2015

For astrological keywords and examples of historical figures for Haumea, see “Dwarf Planet Basics,” Astrology News Service, 6 November 2024,  https://astrologynewsservice.com/articles/dwarf-planet-basics/

For more details about the angles or relationships between planets, see Lynne Hyde’s “Astrology Basics,” 12 November 2024, ANS, https://astrologynewsservice.com/articles/astrology-basics/