Pope Leo to undergo surgery after doctors discover growth on his lung

VATICAN CITY, Oct 11 (Reuters) - Pope Leo said on Sunday that doctors had detected a small ‌growth on his lung during a recent ‌health check and he would be undergoing surgery this week to ​remove it, in the first health scare of the 71-year-old pontiff's tenure.

Leo told pilgrims in St. Peter's Square for his weekly Sunday prayer that the growth was "well-contained" ‌and caught at ⁠an early stage.

"Recently, during some medical examinations, doctors found a localized nodule in my ⁠lung," said the pontiff. "It was detected at a very early stage and is well contained."

"The doctors believe it ​is advisable ​to intervene, so, following ​their advice, I have ‌decided to undergo surgery to remove it," he said. "The operation is already scheduled for the next few days."

Leo, elected pope by the world's cardinals in May 2025, is relatively young for a Church leader. He ‌enjoys sports, including tennis, and is ​not known to previously have ​had health issues.

The ​late Pope Francis, Leo's predecessor, died at ‌age 88 and was increasingly ​frail in ​his later years.

The Vatican press office said Leo's recovery from surgery was expected to take about ​a week. It ‌did not immediately provide further details about the ​pope's health.

(Reporting by Joshua McElwee, Francesca LandiniEditing ​by Tomasz Janowski, Alexandra Hudson)