Pope Leo XIV announced on Sunday, October 11, 2026, that he will undergo surgery to remove a “localized nodule” that doctors found in his lung at a “very early stage.” The operation is scheduled for the first days of the week of October 12 at Rome’s Gemelli Hospital, the hospital popes traditionally use, and the Vatican says the expected post-operative recovery time is about one week. The Vatican has not said whether the nodule is cancerous; most lung nodules are benign, and it is not yet clear whether the surgery will affect his planned early-November trip to Uruguay, Argentina and Peru.
Source: NPR — Pope Leo XIV to undergo lung surgery this week
Image: Policlinico Agostino Gemelli, Rome. Photo by Blackcat via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0 IT.