Pope Leo heads to Rome hospital for lung operation

Pope Leo XIV was due to be admitted to hospital in Rome on Tuesday for surgery to remove a nodule on his lung, an operation experts say is generally low-risk. The 71-year-old will head to the Gemelli hospital in the late morning, Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni told AFP . The surgery to remove a pulmonary nodule, or small growth of tissue in the lung, will mark the pope’s first hospitalisation since he became head of the Catholic Church on May 8, 2025. On Sunday, in a surprise announcement following Angelus prayers, Leo told faithful in St Peter’s Square that doctors had discovered the nodule…