Pope Leo health update: Pope Leo XIV to undergo surgery to remove lung nodule this week. What is it? Check recovery time, future programmes

Pope Leo XIV will undergo surgery in the week beginning from October 12 to remove a nodular lesion on his lung that was recently discovered during medical checks. Pope Leo said on Sunday that doctors had detected a small growth on his lung during a recent health check and he would be undergoing surgery this week to remove it. Pope Leo told pilgrims in St. Peter's Square for his weekly Sunday prayer that the growth was "well-contained" and caught at an early stage.

Leo has no previously known health problems and is considered physically active, with weekly tennis games and swimming at the papal summer retreat in Castel Gandolfo.

Pope Leo Health

The 71-year-old pope said the nodule was found at an early stage and was “circumscribed” or well-localized. The Vatican later said Leo would undergo surgery in the first days of the week, with an expected recovery time of a week. The American pope made the announcement during his Sunday noon blessing. He thanked the crowd for their closeness and entrusted himself to their prayers.

Leo is expected to undergo surgery at Rome's Gemelli hospital, where Francis and popes before him were treated and where there is a special apartment for pontiffs.

A lung nodule is a small abnormal area measuring less than 3 centimeters (1 inch) that sometimes appears on a CT scan of the chest or abdomen, according to the American Cancer Society. Often, the scans are done to investigate trauma or a lung infection, unrelated to a lung cancer screening.

Pope Leo Trip to Argentina

The pope has a major trip planned November 6-17 to Uruguay, Argentina and Peru. It's unclear whether the planned surgery and recovery would affect the itinerary, but Leo said earlier in his remarks Sunday that he planned to go.

Leo’s predecessor, Pope Francis, died April 21, 2025, of a stroke following a long hospitalization brought on by a respiratory crisis that developed into double pneumonia. Francis suffered from chronic lung disease and had part of one lung removed as a young man.

Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni, among the few outsiders to visit Francis during his long final hospitalization, expressed her support, and that of the Italian government, to Leo “as he faces this challenge in the coming days.” In a statement, she added that “the serenity and calm with which he spoke about it” were reassuring.