Pope Leo XIV to have lung nodule surgery within days

Pope Leo XIV said Sunday that he will have an operation in the coming days to remove a nodule on his lung, after recent medical checks found it at what he described as a very early and localised stage.

The Vatican press office said the 71-year-old pontiff was expected to have surgery in the next few days at Gemelli hospital in Rome. It said the expected recovery time would be around one week.

Leo made the announcement during his weekly Angelus address in St Peter's Square. He said doctors believed it would be right to intervene and that he had decided to follow their advice.

The Vatican has not said whether the surgery and recovery will affect the pope's planned trip to Uruguay, Argentina and Peru from November 6 to 17.

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said the calmness with which Leo spoke during the Angelus was reassuring and expressed her closeness, and that of the Italian government, as he faces the operation.

Leo, born Robert Francis Prevost in Chicago, became the first US pope last year after Pope Francis died on April 21, 2025, at the age of 88. He was elected leader of the world's 1.4 billion Catholics on May 8, 2025. Gemelli hospital has frequently treated popes since John Paul II.