Pope Leo admitted to hospital for operation to remove growth on lung

Pope Leo has been admitted to hospital in Rome for an operation to remove a small growth from his lung, a discovery a top Vatican cardinal said had come “like a bolt out of the blue”.

In a rare moment of Vatican transparency, Leo, 71, said during his angelus prayer on Sunday that doctors had found a small nodule on his lung during a check-up, adding that it was “well-contained” and detected early.

“The doctors believe it would be right to intervene and so, following their advice, I have decided to have the operation to remove it,” he said to the crowds gathered in St Peter’s Square.

Leo, who in May last year became the first US-born leader of the Roman Catholic church, is being treated in Rome’s Gemelli hospital, where a large crowd greeted the pontiff.

The Vatican has not disclosed the timing of the operation, although it could take place on Tuesday afternoon, according to Italian media reports. All of his appointments have been cancelled until 20 October.

Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Vatican secretary of state, said he had seen Leo on Monday night. “We spoke with great serenity,” Parolin told Rai News. “He is truly a great example. The announcement came like a bolt out of the blue, nobody expected it. Thank God it was detected immediately, so the operation could take place immediately. Normally, when these things are caught in time, they can be resolved.”

The operation is deemed low risk and will determine whether the nodule is malignant.

Leo will stay in the 10-floor private-patient wing but not in the papal suite, which is being renovated.

The Chicago-born pope, who enjoys sports, especially playing tennis, is generally believed to be in good health. He often makes use of the papal retreat in Castel Gandolfo, close to Rome.

Leo travelled to France on a papal visit in September and is scheduled to go to South America in November for a 12-day trip covering 10 cities.

The weekly papal audience on Wednesday will be led by Luis Antonio Tagle, a cardinal from the Philippines who last week was elected dean of the college of cardinals – the authority that presides over papal conclaves.

The Gemelli, located in the north-west of the Italian capital, is renowned for treating reigning popes. Pope John Paul II stayed there so many times that the Vatican worked with the hospital to establish the high security papal suite.

Leo’s predecessor, Francis, spent more than five weeks in the hospital, being treated for bronchitis which developed into bilateral pneumonia. He died at home in Casa Santa Marta in Vatican City on 21 April 2025, just under a month after being discharged.