Pope Leo XIV surprised the thousands gathered in St. Peter's Square on Sunday. Before leading the noon Angelus prayer, he said he will go into surgery this week after doctors found a nodule on his lung.
Speaking in Italian, the Chicago-born pontiff said the nodule turned up during recent medical checks. He said it was caught at a very early stage and is well localised. Doctors advised removing it, and he said he has decided to follow their advice.
"I thank you for your spiritual closeness and entrust myself to your prayers," he told the crowd.
Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni later gave more detail. The operation is set for the first days of this week at Rome's Gemelli Hospital, the same hospital where popes have long been treated. The expected hospital stay is about a week. The Vatican hasn't said whether the surgery will happen before or after a Mass the pope was originally scheduled to celebrate.
A lung nodule is a small mass of dense tissue, and most are not cancerous. The Vatican hasn't said what this one is. Nodules are often found on scans ordered for unrelated reasons, such as a chest injury or infection.
The announcement is the first major surgery Leo has made public since he was elected on May 8, 2025, becoming the first American pope. He has no known history of health problems, and he is known to stay active by playing tennis. That has been a contrast with his predecessor, Francis, who died on April 21, 2025, after a long and widely followed final hospitalisation.
Leo also said the news won't derail his travel plans. Greeting pilgrims from Peru, he thanked them for their prayers ahead of a pastoral visit to the country planned for November. Italian media, citing unnamed Vatican sources, reported that the surgery date may have been moved up to protect that trip.
Support came quickly. Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said she and the government stand with the pope as he faces this challenge, and said the calm in his voice was reassuring.
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