Top photo caption: Pope Leo XIV leaves following a Mass marking the start of the academic year at the Pontifical Universities, in St. Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican, Oct. 8, 2026. After the Angelus prayer on Oct. 11, he announced that he would undergo surgery to remove a lung nodule. OSV News photo/Remo Casilli, Reuters
By Gina Christian, OSV News
OSV News — Shortly after Pope Leo XIV announced he will undergo surgery to remove a lung nodule, the U.S. Catholic bishops offered their promise of prayers for his recovery and called on the faithful to join them.
The 71-year-old Pope disclosed during his Oct. 11 Angelus address that doctors had found a “localized nodule” in his lung.
He said the nodule was “detected at a very early stage” during “some recent medical examinations.”
Matteo Bruni, director of the Holy See press office, said the operation will take place this coming week at Rome’s Gemelli Hospital.
The “estimated post-recovery time will be about one week,” said Bruni.
Archbishop Paul S. Coakley of Oklahoma City, president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, swiftly promised prayers for Pope Leo.
“The bishops of the United States join with the faithful and all people of good will in praying for his good health,” Archbishop Coakley said in a statement provided to OSV News. “May he hand of Pope Leo’s surgeons be guided by the divine physician Jesus Christ.”
The archbishop added, “Please find a moment today, as I will, to offer a prayer for Pope Leo and his care team.”
While celebrating Mass in St. Rose of Lima Chapel, Freehold, Bishop David M. O’Connell, C.M., remembered the intentions of the Holy Father during the Prayers of the Faithful.
Gina Christian is a multimedia reporter for OSV News. Follow her on X @GinaJesseReina.
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