Pope Leo to be hospitalized Tuesday ahead of surgery, Vatican says

Pope Leo is set to be admitted to the hospital Tuesday before surgery to remove a small growth discovered on one of his lungs, the Vatican confirmed.The pontiff maintained a full schedule on Monday, holding seven previously planned morning meetings.Leo, 71, said Sunday that the growth, a small nodule, was identified during a recent medical check-up, was "well-contained" and had been caught early.The nodule was detected in a routine medical examination, the Vatican press office told journalists earlier Monday, before confirming that the pope is expected to enter hospital late Tuesday morning prior to his planned operation.Officials did not specify when the surgical procedure itself would occur.A daily schedule bulletin released by the Vatican at noon (1000 GMT) on Monday noted that he met that morning with visiting bishops representing Argentina, Nicaragua, and the United States, among others.Elected pope by the cardinals in May 2025, Leo is comparatively youthful for a Church leader. He participates in sports, such as tennis, and has no history of smoking or any reported prior medical complications on record.According to the Vatican, the pope's recovery is projected to take roughly one week.Leo, the leader of the 1.4-billion-member Church, had several public engagements listed on his calendar for this week, including a Mass in St. Peter's Square on Wednesday.The Vatican has not confirmed whether the Mass, which serves as the closing event of a week-long assembly of bishops, will proceed. Although the pope enters hospital on Tuesday, the service could instead be led by a Vatican cardinal.A lung nodule is a small, localized lesion that can often be benign. According to the American Thoracic Society, under 5% of lung nodules overall prove cancerous, although risk rises with age, size, and other factors such as smoking habits.