Pope Leo XIV Will Undergo Surgery This Week to Remove a Lung Nodule Found at 'Very Early Stage'
The pope announced the operation from St. Peter's Square on Sunday. The Vatican expects about a week of recovery, with a trip to South America set for early November.
Pope Leo XIV announced Sunday that he will have surgery this week to remove a "localized nodule" in his lung. Speaking during his weekly noon blessing in St. Peter's Square, the pope said the nodule was found at a "very early stage" and that doctors recommended an operation.
"Following their advice, I have therefore decided to undergo an operation to remove it," Leo told the crowds. He added: "I thank you for your spiritual closeness and entrust myself to your prayers." Leo has had no known previous health problems.
The surgery will take place at Rome's Gemelli Hospital, the main hospital where popes receive medical care. Vatican spokesperson Matteo Bruni said in a statement that the operation is scheduled for the first days of this week and that the estimated recovery time after surgery will be about one week.
The Vatican statement did not describe the nodule beyond calling it localized and at a very early stage. The American Cancer Society describes a lung nodule as a small abnormal area, 3 centimeters or less across, that is found on a CT scan of the chest or abdomen. Such scans are often done for other reasons, including routine screening or checks for trauma, heart disease, lung disease unrelated to cancer, or infection.
The pope's next major international trip is planned for early November, to Uruguay, Argentina and Peru. It is unclear whether the surgery will affect those plans. The Vatican has not announced any change to the schedule.
Leo has made peace a central theme of his papacy, and he used part of Sunday's address to renew his call for an end to the war in Ukraine. "I make a heartfelt appeal to the parties to the conflict to allow the safe transport of grain across the Black Sea," he said. "The daily bread of millions of people cannot be held hostage by war."
The day before, the pope also called for the abolition of the death penalty in a post on X, saying capital punishment is "inadmissible because it is an attack on the inviolability and dignity of the person." He wrote that "the common good can be safeguarded and the requirements of justice can be met without recourse to capital punishment," noting that effective detention systems protect citizens without depriving the guilty of "the possibility of redemption."
The Vatican has given the operation's timing only as the first days of this week. Leo's weekly noon blessing is a regular fixture of the papal calendar, and the pope used it to deliver the news to pilgrims directly.
