Pope Leo XIV said Sunday he will have surgery in the next few days to remove a tiny lesion discovered on his lung during a recent medical check-up.
The 71-year-old pontiff made the announcement during his weekly Angelus prayer in St. Peter’s Square, telling the pilgrims the development was found at a very early stage and is well localised.
Leo said: “During some recent medical examinations, doctors found a localised nodule in my lung. “It was detected very early and it is very contained. The physicians think it is wise to intervene therefore, following their advice, I have opted to have surgery to take it out. The operation is already arranged for the following few days.
The Vatican press office stated the procedure will be performed in the first half of next week and the recovery period is likely to be roughly a week. The operation is anticipated to take place in Rome’s Gemelli hospital, the popes’ customary medical home.
The Vatican did not indicate whether the nodule was suspected to be cancerous. A lung nodule is a small focal lesion that may represent a benign process. The American Thoracic Society estimates that less than 5 percent of all nodules are malignant, although the risk increases with age, size and other factors.
Elected in May 2025, Leo is youthful for a church leader and has no previously known health problems. He is considered physically active, playing weekly tennis games and swimming at the papal summer resort of Castel Gandolfo.
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Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni voiced solidarity with the pontiff. “I want to assure the Holy Father of my personal support and that of the Italian government in confronting this challenge in the coming days,” she said in a statement. The peace and poise with which he spoke about it in the Angelus of this morning are heartening.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky also wished Leo a “successful surgery and a swift, full recovery” in a post on X, adding that “our thoughts and prayers are with him”.
Pope has a huge 11-day trip scheduled to Uruguay, Argentina and Peru from Nov. 6-17. It is not yet known if the operation and rehabilitation would alter the itinerary, although Leo said earlier in his statements Sunday that he intended to go.
The Vatican said Monday that Leo was keeping his regular routine leading up to the surgery, having seven meetings with visiting bishops from Argentina, Nicaragua and the United States that had been scheduled in advance.
Before announcing his health problem, the pope thanked Catholics for their prayers “for the pastoral visit I will undertake. In concluding his message he said, “Thank you for your spiritual support and I commend myself to your prayers”.
Leo’s predecessor, Pope Francis, had died in April 2025 after a long hospitalisation following a respiratory crisis that turned into double pneumonia. Francis was a chronic invalid with lung illness, and had had part of one lung removed when he was young.
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