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![\"\"](\"https:\/\/thedialog.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/12091538\/20261011T0700-POPE-LEO-SURGERY-ANNOUNCEMENT-1828064-scaled.jpg\" "\\"POPE")
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<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\nShortly after Pope Leo XIV announced he will undergo surgery to remove a lung nodule, Catholic bishops, clergy, religious and other faithful in the U.S. and Canada offered their promise of prayers for his recovery.<\/p>\n
The 71-year-old pope disclosed during his Oct. 11 Angelus address that doctors had found a \u201clocalized nodule\u201d in his lung.<\/p>\n
He said the nodule was \u201cdetected at a very early stage\u201d during \u201csome recent medical examinations.\u201d<\/p>\n
<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\nMatteo Bruni, director of the Holy See press office, said the operation will take place this coming week at Rome\u2019s Gemelli Hospital.<\/p>\n
The \u201cestimated post-recovery time will be about one week,\u201d said Bruni.<\/p>\n
Archbishop Paul S. Coakley of Oklahoma City, president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops<\/a>, swiftly promised prayers for the U.S.-born Pope Leo.<\/p>\n \u201cThe bishops of the United States join with the faithful and all people of good will in praying for his good health,\u201d Archbishop Coakley said in a statement provided to OSV News. \u201cMay the hand of Pope Leo\u2019s surgeons be guided by the divine physician Jesus Christ.\u201d<\/p>\n The archbishop added, \u201cPlease find a moment today, as I will, to offer a prayer for Pope Leo and his care team.\u201d<\/p>\n In an Oct. 11 statement provided to OSV News, the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops<\/a> said it united \u201cwith the faithful in prayer\u201d for Pope Leo\u2019s health.<\/p>\n \u201cWe seek the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Health of the Sick, asking for a prompt recovery for the Holy Father following his upcoming surgery,\u201d said the Canadian bishops.<\/p>\n \u201cI ask all of the people of the Archdiocese of Washington to raise their prayers to the Father, Son and Holy Spirit that Pope Leo may be sustained in the fullness of health and lead the Church on its pilgrimage of grace and hope with the same vision, holiness, sacrifice and pastoral compassion that have marked his pontificate at every moment since he assumed the Chair of Saint Peter,\u201d said Cardinal Robert W. McElroy of Washington in an Oct. 11 message posted by Catholic Standard,<\/a> the Archdiocese of Washington\u2019s news outlet.<\/p>\n The cardinal \u2014 currently in Rome for the Vatican\u2019s conference marking the 10th anniversary of Pope Francis\u2019 apostolic exhortation \u201cAmoris Laetitia\u201d \u2014 added, \u201cI would also ask every priest of the Archdiocese to offer Mass for Pope Leo and his health in these days.\u201d<\/p>\n In an Oct. 11 Facebook post, Archbishop Ronald A. Hicks of New York said he joined \u201cwith the bishops, priests, faithful, and all people of good will of the Archdiocese of New York in praying for our Holy Father, Pope Leo XIV, as he prepares for his surgery later this week.\u201d<\/p>\n The archbishop, currently completing a week-long pilgrimage along the Camino de Santiago \u2014 the ancient network of pilgrimage routes through Europe to the tomb of St. James in Santiago de Compostela, Spain \u2014 said, \u201cPope Leo will have an even greater remembrance in my prayers\u201d to \u201cJesus, the Divine Physician\u201d to guide the pope\u2019s doctors and care team.<\/p>\n \u201cWe believe strongly in the power of prayerful petitions,\u201d Father Joseph Farrell, prior general of the Augustinian Order of which Pope Leo is a member, told OSV News by email.<\/p>\n He added, \u201cThe Augustinian brothers and sisters across the globe are praying for our brother Pope Leo XIV. We are praying also for the doctors and entire medical staff who will be assisting him in surgery in the coming days.\u201d<\/p>\n The Augustinian Order issued an Oct. 11 message of support saying, \u201cAs Augustinians, we pray together for the health of Pope Leo XIV.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cMay God bless the Holy Father and his doctors during his upcoming surgery for a nodule found in his lung during a recent exam,\u201d said the order in its message, which was provided in Italian, English, Spanish, French and Portuguese.<\/p>\n Augustinian Father Tom McCarthy, prior provincial of the Our Mother of Good Counsel province to which Pope Leo belongs, told OSV News he and his Augustinian brothers \u201care very sad to hear that Pope Leo needs surgery.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cBut,\u201d he added, \u201cwe are grateful it was caught early. We are offering prayers for the Holy Father and for his doctors, surgeons, nurses, and medical staff who will be caring for him. We are asking everyone to pray for Pope Leo.\u201d<\/p>\n Villanova University, Pope Leo\u2019s alma mater, said in an Oct. 11 X post that it \u201cjoins the global Church in prayer for Pope Leo as he prepares to undergo surgery.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cMay God grant the Holy Father strength, healing and a full recovery in the days ahead,\u201d said the university.<\/p>\n Augustinian Father Robert Hagan, prior provincial of the order\u2019s St. Thomas of Villanova province, told OSV News that prisoners for whom he had celebrated Mass look on Pope Leo as their shepherd and had spontaneously included him in the prayers of the faithful.<\/p>\n Father Hagan recounted that during an Oct. 11 Mass at Pennsylvania\u2019s State Correctional Institute Chester, located some 20 miles south of Philadelphia, the prisoner reading the petitions said, \u201cAs Pope Leo prepares for his procedure, we pray for him, for his doctors, and in thanksgiving that all will go well.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThis fellow added that in on his own,\u201d said Father Hagan. \u201cAnd I could tell he was a voice of the people.\u201d<\/p>\n Gina Christian is a multimedia reporter for OSV News. Follow her on X @GinaJesseReina.<\/em><\/p>\n