Pope Leo XIV to undergo surgery for lung nodule

Pope Leo XIV has a lung nodule and will need to undergo surgery to remove it. He announced this himself on Sunday, during the Angelus.

The pope explained the situation in these words: "I medici mi hanno trovato un nodulo al polmone allo stato iniziale e ben localizzato. I medici ritengono opportuno intervenire e allora, seguendo i loro consigli, ho deciso di operarmi per toglierlo. L'intervento è già programmato per i prossimi giorni" ("Doctors found a lung nodule in me at an early stage and well localized. The doctors believe it is appropriate to intervene, and so, following their advice, I decided to have surgery to remove it. The operation is already scheduled for the coming days.").

A few minutes after the pope's announcement, Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni gave further details on the timing of the operation. According to Bruni, the surgery is expected in the first days of next week, while the post-operative hospital stay should last about a week.

The Gemelli Polyclinic

It was later learned that Pope Leo XIV is expected to undergo the operation at the Gemelli Polyclinic in Rome. The hospital stay could begin as early as Tuesday.