Pope Leo XIV enters Rome hospital for surgery on lung nodule
What's next: The Vatican expects about a week of recovery, and all public events are canceled through Oct. 20.
Pope Leo XIV was due to enter Rome's Gemelli hospital on Tuesday for surgery to remove a small lung nodule, marking the first major health issue of his 17-month papacy. The Vatican said the growth was detected early during routine tests and described it as localized and well-contained. Leo, 71, is expected to recover for about a week, with public events canceled through Oct. 20. Doctors cited in the reports said lung nodules can be benign and that procedures to remove them are often minimally invasive with low complication rates. Leo had said he still planned to make his Nov. 6-17 trip to Uruguay, Argentina and Peru.