Pope Leo maintains usual schedule ahead of surgery to remove lung nodule

Pope Leo is maintaining his regular schedule on Monday as he awaits surgery to remove a small growth found on one of his lungs, the Vatican said.

Leo, 71, said on Sunday that the growth, a small nodule, had been found on a recent check-up, was "well-contained" and had been spotted early.

The nodule was found during a routine health check, the Vatican press office confirmed on Monday.

Leo, elected pope by the world's cardinals in May 2025, is relatively young for a Church leader. He enjoys sports, including tennis, and is not known to be a smoker or to previously have had health issues.

The pope said on Sunday he would undergo surgery this week. The Vatican has not said what day the surgery will take place, but said the pope's recovery is expected to take about a week.

Leo, who keeps a busy schedule as leader of the 1.4-billion-member Church, has several public appointments on his calendar for this week, including a Mass in St. Peter's Square on Wednesday morning.

Wednesday's Mass has not been canceled, as of Monday morning.

A nodule on the lung is a small, localised lesion that can be benign. The American Thoracic Society says fewer than 5% of lung nodules overall prove cancerous, although risk rises with age, size, and other factors such as smoking.

-Reporting by Joshua McElwee, editing by Keith Weir/Reuters