Pope to enter hospital on Tuesday for lung operation
Pope Leo XIV will be admitted to hospital on Tuesday morning for an operation to remove a lump from his lung, the Vatican said.
Pope Leo XIV will undergo a lung operation on Tuesday morning at Rome's Gemelli hospital, the Vatican announced. The 71-year-old, who is the head of 1.4 billion Catholics, will have a pulmonary nodule removed, a small growth of tissue in his lung. This marks the pope's first hospitalization since becoming the head of the Catholic Church on May 8, 2025.
Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni confirmed that the operation will take place at Gemelli, which has a dedicated papal suite. The recovery time is expected to be about a week. The nodule was discovered during recent medical checks and is currently believed to be benign, though a small percentage could be an early stage of lung cancer.
Pope Leo, who is generally in good health and enjoys sports like tennis, is expected to return in time for a planned trip to Latin America from November 6-17, which includes visits to Uruguay, Argentina, and Peru.
Written by urgent.news from The Citizen's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
Also reported by 2 other outlets
- What we know about Pope Leo XIV's upcoming operation to remove lung nodule euronews.com
- Pope to enter hospital on Tuesday for lung operation freemalaysiatoday.com
