(ZENIT News / Vatican City, 10.11.2026).- At the conclusion of the Angelus on Sunday, October 11, Pope Leo XIV announced that he would undergo a procedure to remove a lung nodule. «Recently, during some check-ups, doctors detected a nodule in my lung. It was discovered at a very early stage and is well-localized.»
«The doctors,» the Holy Father added, «consider it advisable to intervene; therefore, following their advice, I have decided to undergo surgery to remove it.» The procedure is already scheduled for the coming days at the Gemelli Polyclinic.
In response to questions from journalists, the Director of the Holy See Press Office, Matteo Bruni, clarified «that the procedure is scheduled for the first few days of next week and that the expected hospital stay following the operation is approximately one week.»
Responding to an inquiry from ZENIT, a doctor at the Gemelli Polyclinic stated: «A pulmonary nodule is a small, round spot or lesion that appears in the lung and is usually discovered on an X-ray or a computed tomography (CT) scan. It generally measures less than 3 centimeters in diameter.» He added: «The most important thing to know is that the majority of pulmonary nodules are benign (non-cancerous).»
Causes associated with the appearance of lung nodules include past infections, scarring of lung tissue, inflammation, benign tumors, and, in some cases, lung cancer or other tumors.
A nodule may be considered more serious when doctors evaluate factors such as its size, shape, and appearance on imaging; whether it has grown over time; the person’s age; smoking history; and any personal or family history of cancer.
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