Pope Leo XIV is scheduled to have an operation this week to remove “a localized nodule” in his lung that was “detected at a very early stage.” It is the first medical event of his 17-month papacy.
The Vatican said he will be admitted to Rome’s Gemelli hospital on Tuesday, and predicted a weeklong recovery.
Here is what is known:
A nodule can be benign or malignant
A lung nodule is a small abnormal area measuring less than three centimeters (about 1.2 inches) across. It is sometimes detected on a CT scan performed to investigate another problem, such as trauma or a lung infection, according to the American Cancer Society.
Experts say the nodule could be benign or malignant and that prompt evaluation is important.
If the nodule is cancerous and removed at an early stage, the prognosis is “excellent,” and surgery alone may be sufficient treatment, said Dr. Stephen Liu, a lung cancer expert at Georgetown’s Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center.
Leo, 71, is considered otherwise healthy and physically fit, both positive factors for his recovery. He said the nodule was discovered during “recent medical tests,” and the Vatican said Monday that no particular health issue prompted the check-up, describing it as “routine.”
-
![]()
Pope’s lung cancer diagnosis spurring greater awareness advocates say -
![]()
Pope Leo’s surgery successful, but doctors diagnose him with lung cancer -
![]()
Pope Leo to undergo surgery to remove nodular lesion -
![]()
Pope Leo XIV announces he has ‘very early stage’ lung growth after routine checkup -
![]()
Pope Leo speaks out against medically-assisted dying, calls it ‘fake compassion’
Surgery followed by a week of recovery
The Vatican said Leo will be admitted to the hospital on Tuesday in the late morning and undergo surgery in the first days of this week. Oncologists who aren’t treating him said patients can often be discharged after just a few days, to recover further at home.
The exact date of surgery wasn’t released, but Leo had a full slate of audiences and appointments Monday morning and afternoon.
Get weekly health news
The pope will be treated at Rome’s Gemelli hospital, formally known as the Agostino Gemelli Polyclinic, a non-profit Catholic teaching hospital that is part of the Catholic Sacred Heart University.
The facility has a special apartment set up for pontiffs on the 10th floor that includes a private chapel. Leo’s immediate predecessor, Pope Francis, was treated there before his May 2025 death during a long illness prompted by a respiratory crisis.
St. John Paul II spent so much time at Gemelli that he called it “Vatican III,” after the Vatican itself and the papal summer residence at Castel Gandolfo.
Upcoming activities and trip in question
Leo has several activities scheduled this week.
In addition to his regular meetings, he was due to celebrate a public Mass on Wednesday to close a weeklong conference on family ministry. It wasn’t known if someone else would celebrate the Mass.
Leo also has a major trip planned Nov. 6-17 to Uruguay, Argentina and Peru. It is unclear whether the surgery and recovery will affect the ambitious itinerary, which includes a dozen flights, two helicopter rides and significant altitude changes in Peru. Leo said earlier in his remarks Sunday that he still planned to make the trip.
Pope remains in charge, even when unconscious
The Vatican has no specific rules governing who takes over if a pope becomes totally incapacitated. Even while unconscious during surgery, Leo remains pope and retains his authority.
Pope Francis remained in charge throughout his lengthy hospitalizations, as did St. John Paul II before him. Both made appointments and issued laws and statements from the hospital. A team of officials already handles day-to-day Vatican operations.
Medical advances and popes’ longer lifespans, however, have highlighted this gap in church law and prompted calls for the Vatican to prepare for a pope becoming too ill or incapacitated to govern.
Two days before revealing his planned surgery, Leo confirmed one significant appointment.
On Friday, he approved Filipino Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle as the new dean of the College of Cardinals. Tagle, 69, replaces Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re, 92, whose term Francis extended in the weeks before his death.
The dean plays a significant role in a papal transition. He presides over the previous pope’s funeral and helps lead the cardinals’ closed-door meetings before the conclave to discuss the church’s future needs. If he is under 80 when the conclave begins, he also presides over the secret election of a new pope in the Sistine Chapel.
The Vatican released a letter Leo wrote to Re on Sunday — the day of his announcement — thanking him for his lifelong service to the church. He noted in particular the role that Re played in the recent papal transition, when he celebrated Francis’ funeral.
“I do not think I am mistaken in saying that you, Your Eminence, have been and remain one of the Holy See’s best-known and most esteemed servants,” Leo wrote.
But He’s his God’s minion? he shouldn’t get cancer or at the very least he should be a good, clean vessel for a miracle? HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! What a pile of hypocrisy! Oh its god’s will if he does or does not heal him. Its God’s will should anyone die an ugly death fighting a desease he could cure in an instant. Just like the millions of people who have died ugly deaths in the name of this god who could have saved each and everyone of them and smote the killer instead! But no, EVIL WALKS FREE AND KILLS IN THE NAME OF YOU DONT BELIEVE SO I WILL KILL YOU! That is the ‘god’ these freaks follow! This is the ;’god’ that inhabits Trump! No god at all! HUMAN evilness in blameless package. It was gawd who done it!!
He, of all people, shouldn’t interfere with God’s plan. If he wants to get better, he should pray harder.
Maybe God is punishing the Pope for chumming with the alphabet soup. Who cares. Get the surgery and get over yourself. We don’t need all the details.
Religious leaders have zero.relevance to modern society
Geez and I thought “membership had its privileges” You would have thought that being on a first name basis with the almighty, cancer would have bypassed the pope.
The only thing to know is it’s a disgrace that the Pope is going to ask a human to remove something that God put on his lung.