Pope Leo undergoes surgery in Rome to remove a lung nodule

The Vatican expects the 71-year-old Catholic leader to recover for a week before a planned trip to Latin America.

The Vatican announced that Pope Leo XIV will undergo surgery to remove a lung nodule.

The 71-year-old head of the Catholic Church will enter Rome's Gemelli Hospital late Tuesday morning for the procedure, which is expected to require about a week of inpatient recovery and cancel future papal audiences.

List 3 Items List 1 of 3 Pope Leo undergoes surgery to remove a lung nodule

List 2 of 3 Pop Leo Says Concerns About AI Risk Not 'Fake News'

List 3 of 3 Pop: Death penalty 'unacceptable' as US plans to broadcast live execution

End of list During his weekly blessing in St Peter's Square on Sunday, Leo told pilgrims that a small nodule in his left lung was found during a routine check-up, saying it was "well contained" and detected early.

"The doctors believe that something should be done, so, following their advice, I decided to have surgery to remove it," he said during the speech, which was delivered in Italian.

Later, the Vatican said a week's recovery time was expected from Leo's surgery and that his audience until October 20 had been cancelled.

The spokesmen did not clarify whether the nodule was malignant or not.

Pope has no reported history of serious illness and is physically active, swimming regularly and playing tennis.

The upcoming surgery comes ahead of an official Latin American tour scheduled for November 6-17, with stops across Uruguay, Argentina and Peru.

Whether the operation and subsequent recovery will cause a change in travel plans remains unclear, although the pope told reporters on Sunday that he plans to make the trip.

The late Pope Francis, Leo's predecessor, has died at the age of 88. Francis was hospitalized several times and weakened in his later years. He usually did not announce his hospital visits in advance, sometimes prompting intense media speculation about his health.