Pope Leo XIV, 71, announced on Sunday (11) that he will undergo surgery in the coming days to remove a nodule in his lung found during recent medical exams. The pontiff said the lesion was detected at a "very early stage" and is well localized, which led his doctors to recommend the operation. He made the announcement himself, speaking to the faithful gathered for the Sunday prayer in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican, according to G1.

"Dear friends, during some recent medical exams, doctors found a localized nodule in my lung. It was detected at a very early stage and is well located. The doctors consider surgery appropriate. Following their guidance, I have therefore decided to undergo an operation to remove it. The surgery is already scheduled for the coming days. I thank you for your spiritual closeness and entrust myself to your prayers," the pope said.

What is confirmed and what remains unknown

A Vatican spokesman said the operation is expected in the first days of next week, with a recovery of about one week, G1 reported. Estadão, which ran an Associated Press dispatch, said the pope described the nodule as circumscribed and that no further details about his condition were released.

So far, the Vatican has not said whether the nodule is benign or malignant. In medical terms, the word "nodule" refers only to a finding on an imaging exam, a small, defined spot in the lung. Without the results of additional tests, any conclusion about a diagnosis would be speculation.

The pope's schedule also remains open. Leo XIV has a two-week trip to Latin America planned for November 6 to 17, with stops in Uruguay, Argentina and Peru, a country where he worked for several years. It would be his first visit to the continent since the start of his pontificate, and the Vatican has not said whether the itinerary will stand after the surgery.

Leo XIV, the American Robert Francis Prevost, has no known history of health problems. According to Estadão, he is physically active, with weekly tennis matches and swimming sessions at the papal summer retreat of Castel Gandolfo.

The episode shows why routine checkups matter: in the pope's case, it was a periodic exam that caught the lesion early, while it is still small, localized and removable with an expected recovery of about one week. The practical guidance follows the same logic his doctors used: keep appointments and exams up to date, and seek medical evaluation for any finding instead of postponing the workup.