Pope Leo XIV has announced he will be operated “in the coming days” after a lump was found on his lung during a medical check up.
“The doctors found an early, well-localised nodule on my lung,” he told the public during his weekly Sunday prayers in St Peter’s Square in Rome.
The 71-year-old pontiff said his medical team “believe it would be right to intervene” and he had agreed to the operation.
Pope Leo reassured pilgrims that the mass was “well-contained” and caught “at an early stage”.
He concluded his Angelus prayer by thanking everyone for their “spiritual closeness” and said he entrusted himself to their prayers.
Holy See Press Office spokesperson Matteo Bruni told the media that “the operation is scheduled for the first days of next week”.
Bruni added that the Pope is expected to take about a week to recover.
Pope Leo, born Robert Francis Provost, succeeded Pope Francis in 2025. He is the 267th occupant of the throne of St Peter – and the first American.
He was ordained in 1982 and spent years as a missionary in Peru, where he is remembered as a figure who worked with marginalised communities and helped build bridges.
By BBC News
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