Pope Leo XIV was admitted to Gemelli University Hospital in Rome on Tuesday for surgery to remove a nodule from his lung. Cardinals who met him say he is calm about the procedure.
The operation, scheduled for Tuesday afternoon, is the 71-year-old pontiff’s first hospitalisation since he became head of the Catholic Church on May 8, 2025.
On Sunday, Leo announced after the Angelus prayer in St Peter’s Square that doctors had found the nodule “at a very early stage” during recent medical checks. “The doctors believe it would be right to intervene,” he told the faithful. The Vatican said the nodule was found during routine checks and that he had shown no symptoms.
Leo waved to well-wishers as he left the Vatican by car, then smiled and waved to the crowd outside the hospital before walking in.
The surgery will be performed by the hospital’s thoracic surgery team, led by Stefano Margaritora. Recovery is expected to take about a week, and the pope’s audiences have been cancelled until October 20.
Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin told ANSA that Leo was “very calm” when they met on Monday. Japanese Cardinal Tarcisio Isao Kikuchi, who also saw him that day, told the daily Repubblica that the pope was “very relaxed, as he always is, and jokey, as usual.”
The pope will stay in a suite on the 10th floor of the hospital, which is traditionally reserved for popes. The usual suite is under renovation, so he will use another on the same floor under tight security. His personal nurse, Massimiliano Strappetti, who cared for the late Pope Francis during several hospital stays, is expected to be with him.
Leo, who was born in Chicago and is the first US pope, is known to be sporty and generally in good health. The Vatican has traditionally kept papal health matters private, but became more open during the illness of Francis.
What experts say
A pulmonary nodule is a small growth of tissue in the lung. Most are benign, though a small percentage can be an early sign of lung cancer.
Marco Scarci, a thoracic surgery expert in the UK, told AFP the procedure is “not a particularly risky operation.” He expects a quick recovery, though it could take up to three months for Leo to return to his pre-surgery fitness.
Federico Venuta, head of thoracic surgery at Policlinico Umberto 1 hospital in Rome, said such nodules can be benign inflammatory, infectious, autoimmune or congenital lesions, or they can be malignant. He added that even if the nodule is not benign, the outlook would be “very positive” because it was caught early and has not spread.
South America trip
Leo is due to visit Uruguay, Argentina and Peru from November 6 to 17. Venuta said the general rule is to avoid air travel for about 20 days after such surgery, though there is some flexibility.
It is unclear what would happen if serious complications arose during the operation. Under Church law, the Cardinal Camerlengo takes over administrative duties if a pope dies, but there is no deputy to step in if a pope becomes incapacitated.
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