Pope Leo XIV announced on Sunday that he will undergo surgery in the coming days to remove a nodule on his lung, which doctors discovered during recent medical checks.

The 71 year old American pontiff broke the news himself at the end of his noon Angelus address from the window of the Apostolic Palace overlooking St Peter’s Square. He told the faithful that doctors had found a localized nodule in his lung, that it was detected at a very early stage and that it was well contained.

Following the advice of his doctors, he said, he had decided to have it removed, and the operation had already been scheduled. He thanked the crowd for their closeness and asked for their prayers.

Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni later said the operation would take place in the first days of the week, with recovery expected to take about one week. He did not say exactly when the pope would be admitted, though he was expected to be treated at Rome’s Gemelli Hospital, which keeps a special apartment for popes. A lung nodule is a small abnormal area, usually smaller than three centimetres, that often appears by chance on a scan.

Leo, who has no previously known health problems and is known to be physically active, with weekly games of tennis, appeared calm as he made the announcement.

Italian Prime Minister, Giorgia Meloni offered the government’s support, saying the serenity with which the pope spoke about it was reassuring.

It remains unclear whether the surgery and recovery will affect his schedule. The pope has a major trip planned for November and said earlier on Sunday that he still intends to go. Before announcing his health news, he used his address to appeal for an end to the war in Ukraine and for the safe passage of grain across the Black Sea.

The announcement carries extra weight at the Vatican, where the long final illness of his predecessor, Pope Francis, who died in April 2025 after a respiratory crisis, is still fresh in memory.

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