By Francis Ngahu
VATICAN CITY, OCTOBER 11, 2026 (CISA) – Pope Leo XIV has announced that he will undergo surgery in the coming days to remove a nodule in his lung, and has asked the faithful to pray for him.
The 71-year-old Pope made the announcement on Sunday after reciting the Angelus with pilgrims in St. Peter’s Square.
“Dear friends, during some recent medical examinations, the doctors found a small, localized nodule in my lung. It was detected at a very early stage and is well-localized,” he said.
He added that his doctors consider surgery the best course. “Following their advice, I have decided to undergo surgery to remove it. The operation is already scheduled to take place in the coming days,” he said.
“I thank you for your spiritual closeness and entrust myself to your prayers,” the Pope said.
The surgery will take place at Rome’s Gemelli Hospital, Vatican News reported. Matteo Bruni, director of the Holy See Press Office, said the operation is set for “the first few days” of this week. He said the Pope’s expected stay in hospital afterwards is about one week.
The Pope did not describe the nature of the nodule in his remarks. The Vatican has not given a date for the operation.
The announcement comes during a busy week in Rome. Pope Leo had been due to celebrate the closing Mass on Oct. 14 for a gathering of presidents of bishops’ conferences and heads of Eastern Catholic Churches, marking the 10th anniversary of “Amoris Laetitia,” OSV News reported. The Vatican has not said whether the surgery will take place before or after that Mass.
The Pope is also due to travel to Uruguay, Argentina and Peru from Nov. 6 to 17, his longest international trip so far. Before announcing the surgery, he greeted members of a Peruvian confraternity, the Brotherhood of the Lord of Miracles, and thanked them for their prayers for “the pastoral visit I will fulfill in Peru.” He gave no sign that the trip is in doubt.
Messages of support followed within hours. Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said the calm with which the Pope spoke reassured her, and expressed the closeness of the Italian government and people.
Archbishop Charles Scicluna of Malta wrote on X that “the Church in Malta is united in prayer for the Holy Father.” Archbishop Luis Argüello of Valladolid, president of the Spanish bishops’ conference, invited the entire Spanish Church to pray for the Pope’s health.
The surgery is the first major operation Pope Leo has publicly disclosed since his election on May 8, 2025. Born Robert Francis Prevost in Chicago on Sept. 14, 1955, he turned 71 last month.
Popes rarely announce medical matters themselves, as the Holy See Press Office usually handles such news. St. John Paul II did so at the Angelus in July 1992, before undergoing surgery at Gemelli.
