Inside Rome's Gemelli Hospital, the longtime medical home of the popes

Rome’s Gemelli Hospital, situated roughly five kilometres from the Vatican, is currently caring for Pope Leo after his lung-cancer operation, continuing its role as the preferred medical centre for modern pontiffs. The hospital features a special papal suite on the tenth floor, complete with a private chapel, but ongoing renovations have placed the pope in alternative accommodations. As the teaching hospital of the Catholic University of the Sacred Heart, Gemelli offers every major specialty under one roof and operates more than 1,600 beds.

In the 2026 one outlet-Statista “World’s Best Hospitals” list, it ranked first in Italy and 33rd worldwide. The link between the papacy and Gemelli began when John Paul II was taken there after the 1981 assassination attempt, leading to repeated visits throughout his reign; Benedict XVI never required admission, while Francis underwent several surgeries and treatments there before his death in 2025. Although founded on Vatican-donated land and named after founder Agostino Gemelli, the hospital remains a private non-profit academic centre within Italy’s public health system, not a Vatican institution.