Pope Leo XIV to Be Admitted Tuesday for Lung Nodule Surgery, First Major Health Event of His Pontificate

VATICAN CITY — Pope Leo XIV will be admitted to Rome's Agostino Gemelli Polyclinic on Tuesday, October 13, for surgery to remove a nodule on his lung, the Vatican said, in what the Associated Press described as the first major health event of his 17-month pontificate. The 71-year-old pontiff revealed the news himself on Sunday, October 11, at the end of his noon blessing, before thousands of people in St. Peter's Square.

Leo said doctors had discovered a "well-defined lung nodule, detected at a very early stage and clearly localised," that the doctors considered it appropriate to intervene, and that he had decided to follow their advice and undergo surgery to have it removed. "I thank you and entrust myself to your prayers," he said. Vatican spokesperson Matteo Bruni said the procedure was scheduled for the first days of the week, with the pope expected to remain in hospital for about a week after the operation and to need roughly a further week of recovery. The Vatican has not disclosed whether the nodule is benign or cancerous, nor released detailed imaging results.

A lung nodule is a small abnormal area of tissue, generally less than 3 centimeters (about 1 inch), often found incidentally on scans done for other reasons. Nodules can arise from previous infections or scar tissue, and most are not cancerous; surgical removal is often recommended to establish whether a nodule is malignant when a needle biopsy is difficult. Oncologists cited by the AP said that if the nodule turns out to be cancerous, Leo's prognosis would be "excellent" because it will have been removed at an early stage.

Leo, born Robert Francis Prevost in Chicago, is the first American-born pope. He was elected in May 2025 following the death of Pope Francis. He is known to be physically active, with weekly tennis games and swimming at the papal summer retreat in Castel Gandolfo, and had no publicly known significant health problems before this announcement. His decision to disclose the surgery himself, in public, marked an unusual level of transparency for the Vatican, which has for centuries closely guarded information about a pope's health.

The Vatican said regular administrative activities will continue during his hospital stay, though decisions requiring the pope's personal authorization or signature may be deferred; under Church procedures the pope retains his authority while undergoing treatment, and there is no automatic transfer of power. Filipino Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle will preside over a Mass scheduled for Wednesday in St. Peter's Square in Leo's place. Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni expressed her personal closeness and that of the Italian government to the pope. The surgery is not expected to affect his planned November 6-17 trip to Uruguay, Argentina and Peru. Gemelli Hospital has treated popes since the 1981 assassination attempt on John Paul II, who called it "Vatican III"; Francis, who died in April 2025 at age 88, was admitted there repeatedly in his final years.

Source: Associated Press and Reuters, October 12; Holy See Press Office statements.

Source: GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)

Photo: 教宗良十四世，Edgar Beltrán（The Pillar）摄，CC BY-SA 4.0（Wikimedia Commons）

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