The Vatican said Pope Leo "passed the night". A priest's joke about it reached millions

Pope Leo XIV is alive. He is recovering at Rome's Gemelli hospital after lung surgery, and on Thursday morning, 15 October 2026, the Vatican said he got up, ate breakfast and walked around his room.

The scare came from one word. After the Holy See Press Office said the night had "passed calmly" for the Pope, a priest in Australia posted a deadpan joke that sounds like a death notice. It has been viewed more than 2.6 million times.

Is Pope Leo alive? What the Vatican said on Thursday

Yes. The Press Office said on Thursday morning that the Pope had a good night, got up and had breakfast. It was the second calm night in a row.

His doctors said his blood tests and chest X-ray were in the range they expect. The X-ray showed good recovery of the operated lung. He has started breathing exercises with a physiotherapist and is eating normally.

The statements were signed by his personal physician, Dr Luigi Carbone, and by the chief of thoracic surgery at Gemelli, Prof Stefano Margaritora. You can read how it began in our story on the lung nodule he announced himself.

What did the priest actually write?

On Thursday, 15 October, Fr John Corrigan posted three lines. Each one opens like a death announcement and ends as a medical update.

The first says Pope Leo "has passed the night peacefully." The second says the Holy Father "breathed his last dose" of saline mist from a nebuliser, a machine that turns liquid medicine into a breathable fog. The third says His Holiness is "no longer with us" in intensive care, because he has moved to the medical unit.

Why does "passed the night" sound like a death notice?

Because in English, "passed" can mean "died". A line that is meant to say "he slept well" can read as the opposite.

The joke was a reply to a post from the Catholic Arena account on Wednesday, 14 October. It quoted the Vatican line, "The night passed calmly for the Pope," and drew about 3.1 million views. Some replies asked people never to use the word "passed" about this subject again.

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The same thing happened to Pope Francis. In February 2025 he was in hospital with pneumonia in both lungs. When the Vatican said he had a peaceful night, Irish broadcaster RTÉ wrote that he "passed a 'peaceful night'". Many readers took the headline to mean he had died, according to Know Your Meme, which tracks internet jokes. Francis left hospital on 23 March 2025, after 38 days.

Photo: Edgar Beltrán / The Pillar / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0

Who is Fr John Corrigan?

He is a parish priest in Victoria, Australia. His X profile says he is the pastor of the St Mary MacKillop Western Border Parish in the Diocese of Ballarat, and he lists Hamilton, Victoria, as his location.

His account has about 1,600 followers. The joke has been seen by more than 2.6 million people, with about 17,000 likes and 1,100 reposts.

He is not new to writing online. A 2016 post on the Evelyn Waugh Society website describes his blog, Blog of a Country Priest. A 2023 local newspaper report says the parish of Port Fairy farewelled him that year, and credits him with merging four Catholic communities into one parish.

We found no news outlet that had reported on the post by Friday, 16 October.

Did the joke go wrong?

It became a game first. Other users added their own lines in the same style. One wrote that the Pope "has died of laughter" after seeing his medical bill. Another wrote that white smoke "will soon appear" from the Popemobile's exhaust. Corrigan replied to that one, "This might be the best one."

Later he wrote that a thread of jokes was what he had wanted. He added that instead it was "a practical joke gone wrong". He did not say in that reply what he meant by it.

Nothing in the post claims the Pope has died. The jokes target the Vatican's wording, not the Pope's illness.

Was Pope Leo really in intensive care?

None of the Vatican reports we found say so. The joke's "intensive care" line is part of the gag.

The Vatican's account says that after the operation the Pope woke up normally, spent a short time under observation, and went back to his room on the hospital's tenth floor. That is the floor where he has stayed since he was admitted on Tuesday.

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The Vatican has said the planned hospital stay is about one week. As of Thursday, 15 October, it had announced no change to that.

What happened in the operation, step by step?

The Pope had been due for surgery since he announced a lung nodule on 11 October. The operation took place on Tuesday, 13 October. The Press Office said it was successful and had no complications.

Sources for the dates and details are the Holy See Press Office statements as reported by Vatican News and the Catholic News Agency.

Photo: Jebulon / Wikimedia Commons, CC0

What do we still not know about his illness?

Doctors said more tests on the removed tissue will come in the coming days. The Catholic News Agency reported that further treatment such as chemotherapy has not yet been discussed.

No stage of the cancer has been given. The Vatican has not said when he will leave the hospital beyond the one-week plan.

Leo's words already get plenty of attention online. We covered his stance on the death penalty and his speech on beauty and technology. This time it was the Vatican's own bulletin that got the attention.

How is Pope Leo doing right now?

The latest Vatican update, from Thursday, 15 October, says he is walking, eating and getting stronger. The Press Office director, Matteo Bruni, told reporters the Pope remains in good humor.

EWTN News reported that the Vatican has also said the Pope still intends to make his planned trip to South America.

The detail that stands out is the timing. On Wednesday afternoon, about a day after surgery that removed part of his lung, Pope Leo concelebrated Mass in a room prepared for him on the tenth floor of the hospital. By Thursday morning he was up and eating breakfast.