Pope Leo to have early-stage lung nodule removed

Summary

Pope Leo said Sunday that doctors found a localized lung nodule at an early stage and that he would have it removed surgically in the coming days. Axios reports Vatican officials said his recovery would take about a week and that the pope did not say whether the nodule was malignant. Fox News’s headline calls it a tumor, while its summary describes it as a lung nodule.

Timeline

1. Axios

   11 Oct 2026, 10:53 UTCSource ↗

   Axios reports that Pope Leo said doctors found a localized, early-stage lung nodule and that he would undergo surgery this week; it adds that Vatican officials expected his recovery to take about a week.

2. Fox News

   11 Oct 2026, 11:04 UTCSource ↗

   Fox News reports that doctors found an early-stage lung nodule and surgery was planned in the coming days; its headline describes the nodule as a tumor.