Overview
- The pope announced on Sunday at the Angelus that doctors found a small, well‑localized pulmonary nodule and he has accepted their recommendation to have it surgically removed.
- The Vatican said the operation is scheduled for the first days of next week at Rome’s Policlínico Agostino Gemelli and that Matteo Bruni expects about a seven‑day hospital stay.
- Officials have not released diagnostic or pathological results and the true nature of the lesion—benign or malignant—will depend on tests after removal.
- The apostolic visit to Uruguay, Argentina and Peru set for 6–17 November remains on the calendar but Vatican statements make clear the itinerary depends on the pope’s postoperative recovery and any further clinical findings.
- European and Latin American leaders and church bodies have sent messages of support; Gemelli has long served papal care and clinicians say many lung nodules are harmless but need tissue analysis to be sure.