Pope Leo XIV has undergone surgery to remove a nodule from his lung at a hospital in Rome, with the Vatican confirming that the procedure was successfully completed.
The Pope entered the hospital smiling and waving on Tuesday morning, hours before the operation to remove the growth.
“The procedure was successfully completed, within the expected time and in the planned manner,” the Vatican said in a brief statement.
“The Holy Father has returned to his room,” it added, noting that further details would be provided later.
The surgery marks the 71-year-old pontiff’s first hospitalisation since he became head of the Catholic Church on May 8, 2025. Vatican officials who saw him on Monday said he appeared relaxed about the hospital stay.
In a surprise announcement after Angelus prayers on Sunday, Pope Leo told crowds in St Peter’s Square that doctors had discovered the nodule “at a very early stage” during medical checks.
“The doctors believe it would be right to intervene,” he said.
The Vatican has historically maintained secrecy around the health of popes but became more transparent during the illness of Leo’s predecessor, Pope Francis, who openly discussed his health challenges.
People outside the hospital expressed concern over the Pope’s condition.
Giorgia Fei, a 57-year-old Italian, said she had been worried by the news.
“However, the Holy Father is in very good hands here at the hospital because we have some outstanding doctors,” she said.
“I will pray a lot for him.”
Giuseppe Purpura, 72, also expressed concern.
“He’s still quite young and I really wasn’t expecting this. I thought he was in better health,” he said, adding that “thankfully it was caught in time.”
The Vicar General for the Diocese of Rome, Cardinal Baldassare Reina, led a rosary prayer for the Pope in the hospital chapel, which was broadcast by the Vatican. Dozens of people attended, while Reina urged parishes across the city to join in the prayers.
Ahead of the surgery, the Vatican said the Pope’s recovery was expected to take about a week. His audiences have been cancelled until October 20.
The Vatican Secretary of State, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, told the ANSA news agency that Pope Leo had been “very calm” about his condition when they met on Monday.
Routine Health Checks
Born in Chicago, Leo is the first American to become pope. He is known to enjoy sports and is generally believed to be in good health.
The pontiff is scheduled to embark on a South American tour from November 6 to 17, with planned visits to Uruguay, Argentina and Peru. However, it remains unclear whether the trip would be affected if his recovery takes longer than anticipated.
Under Catholic Church law, the Cardinal Camerlengo assumes certain administrative responsibilities following the death of a pope. However, the Church does not have a designated deputy to take over the pontiff’s duties if he becomes incapacitated.
Marco Scarci, a thoracic surgery specialist in the United Kingdom, told AFP that the procedure was “not a particularly risky” operation and expressed confidence that Leo would recover quickly.
Most lung nodules are benign, meaning they are not cancerous, although a small proportion may indicate early-stage lung cancer.
The Vatican told AFP that the nodule was discovered during routine health examinations, with no symptoms prompting doctors to examine the pope’s lungs.
What Is a ‘Coin Lesion’?
Professor Federico Venuta, head of thoracic surgery at Policlinico Umberto I hospital in Rome, explained to AFP that a small lung nodule is commonly described as a “coin lesion” because of its coin-like appearance on an X-ray.
While small nodules often do not produce symptoms, larger ones may cause breathing difficulties, chest pain and persistent coughing, sometimes accompanied by blood.
Venuta explained that such growths “could be a whole range of benign lesions — inflammatory, infectious, autoimmune, or congenital — or they could be malignant”.
The procedure to remove a lung nodule can be performed under general anaesthesia, with the patient breathing through a tube during surgery.
According to Venuta, even if the nodule were found to be cancerous, the pope’s chances of recovery would remain encouraging.
“For a generally healthy person, the prognosis for lung cancer caught at such an early stage — specifically a pulmonary nodule with no distant spread — is absolutely favourable,” he said.
Source: AFP
