Pope Leo to Have Lung Surgery After a Nodule Is Found
“The doctors found an early, well-localised nodule on my lung,” the Pope told crowds at the Angelus in St Peter’s Square, announcing it himself. His doctors “believe it would be right to intervene” and he has agreed. The operation is scheduled for the first days of next week, with about a week’s recovery.
He described the mass as well contained and caught at an early stage, thanked the crowds for their “spiritual closeness” and entrusted himself to their prayers. The Holy See press office says the surgery will take place at the Gemelli Hospital in Rome, which has kept a papal suite since the attempt on John Paul II in 1981. Leo XIV is 71, has no known previous health problems and is regarded as physically active, which is part of why the announcement carries weight: this is not the continuation of a known condition. Born Robert Francis Prevost, ordained in 1982 and a missionary in Peru for years, he is the 267th pope and the first American citizen to hold the office, elected a year and a half ago. His predecessor also had lung trouble requiring hospital treatment. Giorgia Meloni expressed personal solidarity, President Sergio Mattarella sent wishes for a peaceful recovery and Israel’s president wished him a full and speedy one. One wording note for anyone comparing reports: some outlets render the finding as a nodular lesion, attributing that phrasing to the Vatican. The word used here is the one the Pope used himself.