- Pope Leo XIV, aged 71, has announced he will undergo surgery in the coming days to remove an early-stage, localised nodule on his lung.
- The Vatican confirmed the operation is scheduled for early next week, with an estimated post-operative recovery time of about one week.
- It remains unclear whether the recovery period will impact the pontiff's planned trip to Uruguay, Argentina, and Peru from 6 to 17 November.
- The Chicago-born Pope, who became the first American pontiff in May 2025, has no previously known health issues and is physically active.
- The news follows the Pope's recent statement reaffirming Catholic teaching that capital punishment is “inadmissible”.
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