Pope Leo XIV to have surgery for lung nodule at Rome's Gemelli clinic

The announcement

Leo XIV told the faithful on Sunday, 11 October, after the Angelus prayer, that doctors had found a nodule in his lung during recent checks. He said it was detected at a very early stage and is well localised. The Pope then explained his decision in his own words.

Dear brothers and sisters, recently, during some checks, the doctors found a circumscribed nodule in my lung. It was detected at a very early stage and is well localised. The doctors consider it appropriate to intervene, so, following their advice, I have decided to have surgery to remove it.

Matteo Bruni, director of the Holy See Press Office, said on request that the operation at the Gemelli clinic in Rome is planned for the first days of the week after 11 October. Bruni also said the hospital stay afterwards is expected to last about one week. The exact day has not been officially confirmed.

Surgery timing and hospital stay

Italian media reported, citing Corriere della Sera, that Leo could be admitted as early as Tuesday, 13 October, with surgery that afternoon or on Wednesday, 14 October. These reports have not been officially confirmed. Reviewing the Pope's schedule, Italian coverage points to Wednesday, 14 October, in the afternoon as a probable date. That day he is due to preside at 10:00 over a Mass concluding a Vatican meeting marking the 10th anniversary of the apostolic exhortation Amoris laetitia.

The Pope has said he does not want to give up that appointment, which follows an invitation to heads of Eastern Churches and to presidents of episcopal conferences worldwide to come to Rome. Until the date is confirmed, the wider calendar cannot be fully set. Leo has said the nodule was found at a very early stage and is well localised, and the Vatican has given no further clinical details.

Schedule and the Peru trip

On Monday, 12 October, the Pope kept his scheduled audiences in the Vatican, including members of the Circolo di San Pietro, and Rai reported seven audiences that morning. According to the Holy See, he still intends to travel to South America from 6 to 17 November despite the operation, with Peru on the itinerary as the country where he worked as a missionary and bishop. Cardinal Carlos Castillo, Archbishop of Lima, said a meeting with young people from Peru and neighbouring countries is planned for 12 November at the National Stadium in the capital. Castillo added that no point of the visit has been changed. Greeting some faithful, the Pope thanked them for praying for his pastoral visit to Peru.

Prayers across the Church

Bishops in Peru asked the faithful to pray for the Pope's health on Sunday evening, and prayers are being offered in the Archdiocese of Lima before an image of the crucified Jesus known as Lord of Miracles at the Las Nazarenas sanctuary. Peruvian President Keiko Fujimori said that hearts and prayers accompany the Pope. In the United States, Archbishop Paul Coakley, chairman of the bishops' conference, wrote on X that the bishops join the faithful and all people of good will in prayer for his health. Archbishop Charles Scicluna of Malta wrote that the Church in Malta is united in prayer, and Cardinal Daniel Sturla, Archbishop of Montevideo, asked for prayers for a swift recovery before the apostolic trip to Uruguay planned for November.

In Poland, Archbishop Tadeusz Wojda, head of the Polish Episcopal Conference, posted a video appeal on social media asking Poles to pray for the Pope:

I warmly encourage all our compatriots to surround the Pope with prayer, to pray for a good operation and for the Pope's swift return to health, so that he can return and continue to lead the Church.

Matteo Zuppi, president of the Italian Episcopal Conference, thanked the Pope for the simplicity and trust with which he shared this trial.

What is still unknown

The nature of the nodule has not yet been established. Coverage lists possible causes, including earlier inflammation or infections, benign growths, and lung cancer or metastases from a tumour elsewhere in the body. Definitive clarity often comes only from a tissue sample or the surgical removal itself, and many nodules found by chance are not cancerous. The Vatican said the nodule was found during a routine examination. Leo is 71, and coverage notes that he keeps fit with tennis, swimming and regular exercise. No health problems had been publicly known before this announcement.