Pope Leo to have surgery on lung nodule on Tuesday afternoon

Pope Leowill have surgery at Rome's Gemelli Hospital on Tuesday afternoon to remove a small growth on ‌one of his lungs, in the first major health issue of his 17-month tenure. Leo, 71, said on Sunday that the growth, a small nodule, had been found on a recent check-up, was "well-contained" and had been spotted early.

The Vatican confirmed the timing of the surgery after Leo was seen heading into Rome in ‌a convoy of vehicles driving toward Gemelli Hospital, about 9 km (5.6 miles) north of the Vatican. The pope waved from a black SUV as he ‌left the Vatican.

Upon arrival at the hospital, Leo shook hands with several officials, walked in front of a waiting crowd of well-wishers, some of whom shouted 'Auguri' (best wishes), and headed in via the main entrance. The Vatican has said his recovery is expected to take about a week. All his public events have been cancelled until October 20.

RELATIVELY YOUNG POPE Leo, elected by the world's ⁠cardinals in ​May 2025, is relatively young for a ⁠Church leader. He enjoys sports, including tennis, and is not known to be a smoker or to have had health issues previously.

A nodule on the lung is a small, localised ⁠lesion that can be benign. The American Thoracic Society says fewer than 5% of lung nodules overall prove cancerous, although risk rises with age, size, and other factors such ​as smoking. Dr. Federico Venuto, chief of thoracic surgery at Rome's Policlinico Umberto I Hospital, said procedures to remove lung nodules are usually minimally ⁠invasive, and can sometimes involve use of a thin camera tube called a thoracoscope.

"The complication rate is extremely low," he told Reuters. SOUTH AMERICAN TRIP

The late Pope Francis, Leo's predecessor, was ⁠hospitalised several ​times as he grew frail in his later years. He died aged 88 in April 2025. Leo, who spoke in a firm, clear voice at his only public event on Monday, keeps a very busy schedule. He is due to make an 11-day tour of Uruguay, Argentina and Peru ⁠from November 6 to 17.

In the same address on Sunday when the pope announced his need for surgery, hesaid he would go ahead with the ⁠trip. The pope is the ultimate earthly ⁠authority for the world's 1.4 billion Catholics and does not have a deputy who steps in when he is sick. When a pope is incapacitated, the business of the Vatican's vast bureaucracy carries on as usual, holding ‌off on any decisions that ‌require papal approval.