The announcement has triggered immediate logistical changes within the Holy See. Matteo Bruni, Director of the Holy See Press Office, confirmed on Monday that the hospital stay is expected to last approximately one week, with the Pope’s discharge anticipated around October 20. Consequently, the Prefecture of the Papal Household has cancelled all of the Pope’s scheduled audiences through that date. Despite the upcoming procedure, Pope Leo XIV held all his scheduled audiences on Monday morning before the hospitalization begins.
“Dear brothers and sisters, recently, during some medical examinations, doctors found a well-defined nodule in one of my lungs. It was detected at a very early stage and is well localized,” the Pope said. “The doctors believe it is advisable to operate. I have decided to undergo surgery to remove it, following their advice.”
The Pope’s temporary absence from his public duties coincides with a significant ecclesiastical event: the tenth anniversary of the publication of *Amoris Laetitia*, the post-synodal apostolic exhortation on love in the family. A meeting in the Paul VI Hall is currently underway to mark this occasion, bringing together heads of Eastern Churches, Presidents of Bishops’ Conferences, married couples, and experts. Father Giacomo Costa, a Jesuit who oversees the meeting’s methodology and serves as a consultor to the General Secretariat of the Synod, explained that the Pope’s hospitalization requires adjustments to the program’s final days.
One notable change involves the Mass scheduled for Wednesday, October 14, in St. Peter’s Square. Originally intended to be presided over by the Pope, the celebration will instead be led by Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle, Pro-Prefect of the Dicastery for Evangelization and the new Dean of the College of Cardinals. Father Costa stated that during the Mass, participants will offer prayers specifically for the Holy Father’s health and for families worldwide.
The hospitalization also impacts the handling of the meeting’s synthesis report. Pope Leo XIV had expressed a desire to listen to the participants’ conclusions and offer his own reflections before any official publication. To accommodate this, he has asked that the report not be released as originally planned. This decision ensures the Pope can review the contents and respond once he is recovered, preserving his active role in the synodal process despite his physical absence.
Since the announcement, the Pope has received messages of support from churches and political leaders across all five continents. The discovery of the nodule was framed by the Holy See Press Office as the result of routine checks, a detail Bruni emphasized when responding to journalists’ questions on Monday. The localized nature of the condition and its early detection suggest a standard surgical intervention, with the focus now shifting to the Pope’s recovery in the coming week.
The next phase of the meeting will proceed without the Pope’s physical presence but under his continued spiritual guidance. The cancellation of audiences and the delegation of the Wednesday Mass demonstrate the Holy See’s ability to maintain its institutional rhythm while addressing the head of the Church’s medical needs. As the Pope enters the hospital on Tuesday, the international community’s attention turns to his recovery, with the next major update expected upon his return from the one-week hospital stay.
