VATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Leo XIV had a full day of meetings, audiences and appointments on Monday, a day after revealing he would have an operation this week to remove a lung nodule discovered during recent medical tests.
The Vatican press office said no particular issue precipitated the tests, denying Italian media reports suggesting an inflammation had prompted the medical check-up.
The 71-year-old Leo revealed the discovery during his Sunday noon prayer and said he was following doctors’ advice to remove the nodule “in the coming days.” The Vatican said surgery was planned in the first days of the week and predicted a weeklong recovery.
It was business as usual at the Vatican on Monday, with Leo presiding over six private audiences, including with the head of the U.S. military chaplains, Archbishop Timothy Broglio, and one group audience. He also made three appointments, and the Vatican released a letter he had penned to the outgoing dean of the College of Cardinals.
In the afternoon, he was expected to rejoin a weeklong conference he convened on ministering to families.
The Vatican has for centuries zealously guarded the pope’s health and has often sent out confusing information, or none at all, about papal illnesses. Pope Francis tried to change that by being upfront about his frailties and musing on his eventual death. But even during his pontificate, information was tightly controlled.
Leo’s decision and reveal suggested an unusual level of transparency by the American pope.
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