The Vatican has detailed laws, rituals and norms to transfer papal power if a pope dies or resigns. But none of them apply when he is sick or even unconscious. Pope Leo XIV will undergo surgery Tuesday to remove a nodule on his lung. As a result, he remains pope and very much in charge even from the operating room at Rome’s Gemelli hospital. Nothing changes in his status, role or power since being elected the 267th pope on May 8, 2025. Leo already delegates the day-to-day running of the Vatican and church to a team of officials who operate whether he is in the Apostolic Palace or not.