Pope Leo XIV has announced he will undergo surgery in the coming days to remove a small nodule detected in one of his lungs, in the first publicly reported health scare of his papacy.

The 71-year-old pontiff made the announcement himself on October 11, during his weekly Angelus address in St Peter’s Square, telling pilgrims that recent medical examinations had found a localised nodule. He said doctors had detected it at a very early stage and described it as well contained, and that they had advised removing it.

Surgery at Gemelli Hospital

Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni confirmed the surgery is scheduled for the first days of the week at Rome’s Gemelli Hospital, the facility that has long treated popes. The expected post-operative hospital stay is about one week. The Vatican has not disclosed whether the nodule is benign or malignant, nor provided further details of the procedure.

The pope said he had decided to follow his doctors’ advice, thanking the crowds for their spiritual closeness and asking for their prayers. He did not give an exact date for the operation. The hospitalisation will force him to cancel engagements scheduled in the coming days, including the closing Mass on October 14 of a Vatican meeting on the family marking the 10th anniversary of Amoris Laetitia.

Ahead of a major trip

The announcement comes less than a month before the pope’s longest international trip to date, a 12-day apostolic visit to Uruguay, Argentina and Peru scheduled for November 6 to 17. The Vatican has not confirmed how the surgery might affect his schedule, though the pope greeted members of a Peruvian religious association during his address and said he was moving forward with the visit.

The health scare is the first of Leo’s papacy, which began in May 2025, when Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost was elected the 267th pontiff after the death of Pope Francis. Leo has had no known previous health problems. World leaders and church figures, including Italian prime minister Giorgia Meloni, have expressed solidarity as the pope prepares for surgery.