Pope Leo to Have Surgery to Remove Lung Nodule

Pope Leo XIV said he will undergo surgery in the coming days to remove a nodule in his lung.

Speaking during his regular Sunday blessing, the American-born pope said doctors discovered the nodule in a localized, “very initial phase.”

“Following their advice, I decided to be operated on to remove it,” he said from the window of his apartments overlooking St. Peter’s Square, speaking in Italian. “The operation is already scheduled in the coming days.”

The Vatican later said the operation will take place in the first days of this week, with an estimated recovery time of one week.

Leo, 71, was elected leader of the world’s 1.4 billion Catholics last year.

The surgery is set to take place just weeks before he’s scheduled to travel to South America. That trip, from Nov. 6 to Nov. 17, is planned to take him to 10 cities in Uruguay, Argentina and Peru, where he spent much of his career and holds a second citizenship.