VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Pope Leo XIV will undergo surgery in the afternoon Oct. 13 at Rome's Gemelli Hospital to remove a small nodule in his lung.
Television cameras located outside the Perugino gate of Vatican City broadcast the pope leaving a few minutes before 1 p.m. Rome time in a small Fiat car with the "SCV 1" license plate of the popemobile. He lifted his arm to wave to onlookers.
He arrived at the hospital about 10 minutes later, smiling and waving to the large crowd that had gathered at the entrance and greeting hospital officials.
The Vatican press hall told reporters in a communique Oct. 13 that the pope would be operated on in the afternoon by a thoracic medical team led by Dr. Stefano Margaritora, who is the hospital's director of thoracic surgery and head of the neuroscience and chest department as well as a professor of thoracic surgery at the Catholic University of the Sacred Heart in Rome.
Pope Leo XIV had made the surprise announcement about his surgery
Pope Leo had announced after the Sunday Angelus Oct. 11 that doctors had recently found "a small, localized nodule" in his lung and that he would have it treated surgically sometime this week.
"It was detected at a very early stage and is well-localized," he told visitors and pilgrims in St. Peter's Square. "The doctors believe that it is best to intervene, so, following their advice, I have decided to undergo surgery to remove it."
"I thank you for your spiritual closeness and entrust myself to your prayers," he had said.
Vatican Radio reported that churches in Rome were leading evening Rosary prayers starting Oct. 13.
Cardinal Pietro Parolin, Vatican secretary of state, told reporters on the sidelines of a meeting in Rome Oct. 13 that he had spoken with the pope the day before and said he sounded "very serene."
"Truly, the Holy Father is a great example of this," he said. "I am worried because I certainly did not expect something like this," however, "thank God, it was found quickly."
Cardinal Tarcisius Isao Kikuchi of Tokyo met with Pope Leo Oct. 12 and told the Italian daily La Repubblica that the pope told him he did not want to cancel his planned Nov. 6-17 trip to Uruguay, Argentina and Peru.
Therefore, "he decided to immediately undergo the necessary care," the cardinal told the newspaper. "This is a minor intervention, a small operation. It's nothing serious."
A lung nodule is a small mass of dense tissue on the lung, according to the American Lung Association. Lung nodule surgery can be part of diagnosing and treating atypical lung growth.
Expected recovery and canceled events
Matteo Bruni, head of the Vatican press office, had told reporters the pope is expected to need about one week of recovery, and the prefecture of the papal household said all of the pope's audiences and public events had been canceled until Oct. 20.
It was the first time as pope since his election May 8, 2025, and the second time in his life that the 71-year-old pope has been hospitalized, according to an interview he gave U.S. journalist Elise Harris Allen in 2025.
The first time was in 1985, when he was a missionary priest in Peru and was taken to a private clinic in Piura after coming down with typhoid fever in Chulucanas.
"It's the only time in my life that I've been hospitalized," he said in the interview he gave just a few months after his election. "That was a very significant point for me, because it was like you've dealt with sickness.'"
Vatican gathering postpones release of report
Pope Leo attended all of his seven scheduled morning appointments Oct. 12, the day before his hospitalization.
However, he did not participate in the afternoon session of the global gathering of the presidents of bishops' conferences and heads of the Eastern Churches, who are at the Vatican Oct. 7-14 reflecting on the 10th anniversary of Pope Francis' "Amoris Laetitia" and the task of proclaiming the Gospel with families today.
Cardinals Kevin Farrell and Mario Grech released a joint statement at the start of the afternoon session Oct. 12, saying the assembly would not be making its final summary report public as previously announced since the pope would be unable to participate in the last days of the meeting.
"Once the Holy Father has completed his convalescence, we will present to him the results of the assembly, which he is awaiting," the statement said. "We will then proceed according to his instructions."
Carol Glatz
Catholic News Service