Pope’s motorcade leaves Vatican for expected admission to hospital for surgery to remove lung nodule

Pope Leo XIV was admitted to hospital in Rome on Tuesday for surgery to remove a nodule on his lung, but cardinals said he appeared “very relaxed” about the operation. The surgery to remove a pulmonary nodule, or small growth of tissue in the lung, marks the 71-year-old’s first hospitalisation since he became head of the Catholic Church on May 8, 2025. It will take place Tuesday afternoon, the Vatican said.

On Sunday, in a surprise announcement following Angelus prayers, Leo told the faithful in St Peter’s Square that doctors had discovered the nodule “at a very early stage” during recent medical checks. “The doctors believe it would be right to intervene,” he said. The Vatican has historically been very secretive about papal health, but began to be more transparent during the illness of Leo’s predecessor Francis, an Argentine who freely discussed his ailments.

Leo waved to well-wishers as he left the Vatican by car and smiled and waved to crowds waiting for him at the Gemelli, before walking into the hospital. The operation will be performed by the Gemelli’s thoracic surgery team, led by Stefano Margaritora, the Vatican said. The pope’s recovery time is expected to be about a week.

His audiences have been cancelled until October 20. The Vatican’s secretary of state, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, told ANSA news agency that Leo had been “very calm” about the nodule when they met on Monday. Japanese Cardinal Tarcisio Isao Kikuchi, who also saw the pope Monday, told the Repubblica daily Leo was “very relaxed, as he always is, and jokey, as usual”.

Rome’s Gemelli hospital is where popes are usually treated, and they stay in a special suite on the 10th floor, which has a small chapel, kitchen, bathroom and meeting room. But that suite is under renovation, so Leo will stay in another one on the same floor, under high security. He will likely have his personal nurse Massimiliano Strappetti, who looked after Leo’s predecessor Francis during several stays at the Gemelli hospital before his death last year.

– ‘Coin lesion’ – Chicago-born Leo, the first US pope, is sporty and believed to generally be in good health. Leo is scheduled to travel to South America from November 6-17 to visit Uruguay, Argentina and Peru. It was not clear what would happen should there be serious complications during the operation.