Pope Leo XIV is at Gemelli, undergoing lung surgery in the afternoon

The Holy Father will be operated on this afternoon for a nodule in his lung which was discovered during a routine check-up. All hearings until Tuesday 20 October have been cancelled, as a week of post-operative hospitalization is expected.

Shortly before 1pm, Pope Leo The Pontiff left the Perugino Gate in a car and arrived at the Polyclinic around 1.10pm, where he got out of the car to greet those present. The goal is to return to everyday life as soon as possible, but it will depend on the outcome of the surgery and the subsequent biopsy.

The surgery, according to what we learn, will be carried out already this afternoon, according to some sources around 4pm. The Pope's surgery should be carried out by Professor Stefano Margaritora, director of the complex Thoracic Surgery Unit at Gemelli, an expert in minimally invasive techniques, and the Pope's personal doctor, Doctor Luigi Carbone, should also be present.

In the meantime, all hearings until Tuesday 20 October have been cancelled, given that - as announced from the beginning - a week of post-operative hospitalization is expected. Doubt remains about the Angelus on Sunday 18 March, but according to Vatican sources "we will see from day to day". Yesterday, however, the Pope regularly followed the activities on his agenda, also meeting the benefactors of the Circolo San Pietro.

Meanwhile, in the buildings of the Holy See there seems to be an atmosphere of tranquility. "I saw him very well, in excellent spirits and I would say that, if it hadn't been for the announcement he himself had made, he doesn't give the impression of a sick person: he gets up, he sits down, there are no symptoms or pain or discomfort", reported Monsignor Jorge Eduardo Lozano, archbishop of San Juan, Argentina, who met him yesterday morning. Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa is also reassuring: "From the inside they reassured us. The temper is strong and the doctors are good. It seems like something that is very much under control." "I am certain - said Cardinal Gianfranco Ravasi -, also from the news we have, that this intervention is not a serious commitment".

"We were all struck by the serenity with which the Pope announced this intervention. We hope that he can resolve this problem as soon as possible. We are confident but obviously we accompany him with our prayers", said Cardinal Secretary of State, Pietro Parolin, today before a conference at the Gregoriana. Then he explained that he had seen the Pope last night: "We spoke with great serenity. Am I worried? Yes, because I certainly wasn't expecting something like that." Then Parolin was asked if the announcement was a bolt from the blue in the Holy See too: "Of course, yes, no one expected it." And he concluded: the lump "is something that, thank God, we noticed immediately. And normally when these things are caught in time they can be resolved. But these are, as the Pope said, God's surprises".