Pope to undergo surgery to remove lung nodule; official audiences canceled through the 20th

[Financial News] The Vatican said on the 12th that Pope Leo XIV would be admitted on the 13th (local time) for surgery to remove a nodule found in his lung.
The Pope reportedly was found to have a lung nodule during a recent medical checkup. A lung nodule is abnormal tissue less than 3 cm in diameter. Experts said patients who undergo surgery to remove lung nodules can typically be discharged within a few days.
Vatican spokesperson Matteo Bruni said at a briefing the previous day, “The surgery was scheduled for early this week, and recovery is expected to take about a week after the operation.”
The Vatican said that all official audiences scheduled with the Pope through the 20th had been canceled because of the surgery.
The surgery will take place at Agostino Gemelli University Hospital in Rome, Italy.
Gemelli Hospital is a nonprofit Catholic teaching hospital, with special accommodations and a chapel for the Pope on its 10th floor. The hospital has also earned the nickname “the third Vatican” because Pope John Paul II spent a long time there in the past.
At 71 this year, Pope Leo XIV is considered to have become pope at a relatively young age compared with his predecessors. He enjoys sports such as tennis and is said to have had no significant medical history.
[email protected] Lee Seok-woo, International Affairs Correspondent Reporter