Pope Leo to undergo surgery after nodular lesion found in lung, Vatican says

Pope Leo XIV will undergo surgery this week after a nodular lesion was found in his lung, the Vatican said. Recovery is expected to take a week.

Leo, 71, said Sunday that doctors recently discovered the nodular lesion during medical checks. He said it was found in an early stage and was “circumscribed.” 

A statement by Vatican spokesperson Matteo Bruni didn’t say when the pope would be hospitalized but that it would be in the “first days” of the week. He was expected to be treated at Rome’s Gemelli Hospital, which has a special apartment for the pope.

The statement didn’t say what impact, if any, the surgery or weeklong recovery would have on Leo’s planned Nov. 7-16 trip to  Uruguay, Argentina and Peru, but the pope on Sunday asked for prayers for his upcoming trip to Peru especially.

The American pope has no previously known health problems and is known to be physically active, with weekly tennis games and swimming at the papal summer retreat in Castel Gandolfo.