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Pope Leo XIV will be admitted to the hospital on Tuesday, days after he shared he would undergo surgery to remove a lung nodule discovered during recent medical tests, the Vatican announced.
The Holy See press office didn’t say when the operation itself would take place, but said it will require a weeklong recovery in the hospital.
The U.S.-born pontiff revealed the discovery of the nodule during his Sunday noon prayer and said he was following doctors’ advice to have it removed.
He said it was found in an early stage and was “circumscribed.”
“The doctors believe it’s best to take action, so, following their advice, I’ve decided to have surgery to remove it,” Leo, 71, said Sunday. “Thank you for your spiritual support, and I entrust myself to your prayers.”
He will be treated at Rome’s Gemelli Hospital, which has a special apartment for the pope.
The Vatican press office said Monday that no particular issue precipitated the tests, denying Italian media reports suggesting an inflammation had prompted Leo to undergo the checkup.
The pope’s surgery marks the first major health event of his 17-month pontificate. It was significant because the pope himself revealed the news, in perhaps the most public way possible: at the end of his Sunday noon blessing with thousands of people in St. Peter’s Square.
The Vatican has for centuries zealously guarded the pope’s health and has often sent out confusing information, or none at all, about papal illnesses. Pope Francis tried to change that by being upfront about his frailties and musing on his eventual death. But even during his pontificate, information was tightly controlled.
Leo’s decision and reveal suggested an unusual level of transparency by the American pope.
A lung nodule is a small abnormal area measuring less than 1 inch that sometimes appears on a CT scan of the chest or abdomen, according to the American Cancer Society. Often, the scans are done to investigate trauma or a lung infection, unrelated to a lung cancer screening.
On Monday, it was business as usual at the Vatican. Leo presided over an audience with members of a Rome-based charity, the Circolo San Pietro, and received a donation from them. He spoke in a strong, clear voice, praising their service and sacrifice. The crowd gave him a rousing round of applause afterward.
He had six other private audiences, made three appointments and the Vatican released a letter he had penned to the outgoing dean of the College of Cardinals, thanking him for his service. The letter was signed on Sunday.
In the afternoon, he was expected to continue his audiences and, if time, rejoin a weeklong conference he convened on ministering to families.
The pope has a major trip planned Nov. 6-17 to Uruguay, Argentina and Peru. It’s unclear whether the planned surgery and recovery would affect the itinerary.
