Cardinal Parolin gives update on Pope Leo as he prepares for surgery

 

Cardinal Parolin speaks with reporters outside the Pontifical Gregorian University 

Vatican

• Pietro Parolin
• Vatican
• Pope Leo XIV
• medicine & health

Cardinal Parolin: 'I spoke with Pope Leo, who is an example of great serenity'

Cardinal Secretary of State Pietro Parolin shares with journalists his hope for the Pope's quick recovery from surgery, saying everyone is accompanying Pope Leo with prayer and affection.

Vatican News

On the morning before Pope Leo XIV would be admitted to Rome’s Gemelli Hospital for surgery to remove a “lung nodule confined to a limited area,” the Vatican Secretary of State, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, expressed his closeness to the Pope, and praised the Holy Father's serenity.

He spoke to journalists asking about Pope Leo's health on the sidelines of a conference at the Pontifical Gregorian University entitled “John Paul I: Iustitia et Pax: ‘Safeguarding and Promoting Peace in This Troubled World’,” organized by the Vatican John Paul I Foundation, of which the Cardinal is president.

“We were all struck by his serenity,” the Cardinal said, referring to the composure with which the Pope conveyed the announcement about the upcoming surgery at his Sunday Angelus.

“We hope, as he said, that we are right at the beginning of this difficulty and that the problem can therefore be resolved as soon as possible. We are confident,” he said. “Naturally, we are all accompanying him with our prayers and affection.”

Great serenity

The Vatican Secretary of State explained that he had spoken with Pope Leo on Monday afternoon.

“We spoke very calmly. The Holy Father truly is a great example in this regard,” he said.

“I am concerned,” Cardinal Parolin acknowledged, “because I certainly did not expect something like this to happen.” However, he noted that it was a condition “which, thank God, was detected immediately” and which could therefore be addressed “as soon as possible.”

“Normally, when these things are caught in time, they can be resolved,” he added.

God’s surprises

The Cardinal also reflected on the great outpouring of affection from people around the world for the Pope.

“This shows how much Pope Leo is loved, appreciated and followed by everyone,” he said, encouraging people to continue expressing their closeness to the Pope as he undergoes the procedure.

“Was it a bolt from the blue?” a journalist asked.

“Yes, certainly,” Cardinal Parolin replied, “because no one expected it. But these are, as the Pope said, God’s surprises.”

Cardinal Kikuchi's closeness

On Monday, Cardinal Isao Kikuchi, Archbishop of Tokyo, posted on Facebook following his private meeting with the Holy Father.

He explained that at 9:30 A.M. he was granted an audience with Holy Father together with the Secretary General of Caritas Internationalis. The Cardinal said he had a private conversation with the Holy Father before the audience with the two of them.

"Though he assured me that this is a minor operation, and he feels nothing wrong with his body, and he said he had decided to go for the operation as soon as possible not to change his plan of Latin America visit." Cardinal Kikuchi concluded. "We have to keep Holy Father in our prayers."

Pope Leo XIV arrives at the Hospital for today's surgery; prayers for complete recovery!

 

Pope

• Pope Leo XIV
• medicine & health
• press office

Pope Leo XIV admitted to Gemelli Hospital ahead of surgery

Pope Leo XIV has arrived at Rome’s Agostino Gemelli University Hospital, where he is scheduled to undergo surgery on Tuesday afternoon to remove a "small, localized nodule" from his lung.

Vatican News

Pope Leo XIV has been admitted to Rome’s Agostino Gemelli University Hospital and will undergo surgery on Tuesday afternoon to remove a "small, localized nodule" from his lung.

According to the Holy See Press Office, the operation will be carried out by the hospital’s thoracic surgery team, led by Professor Stefano Margaritora.

An update is expected in the evening.

Pope Leo greets patients and staff of Gemelli Hospital (VATICAN MEDIA)

Speaking to journalists on Monday, the Director of the Holy See Press Office, Matteo Bruni, said the nodule had been found during routine medical examinations.

He confirmed that Pope Leo is expected to remain in the hospital for about a week after surgery.

The Pope held all his scheduled audiences on Monday morning, as messages of support continued to arrive from Churches and political leaders around the world.

Pope Leo greets patients and staff of Gemelli Hospital (VATICAN MEDIA)

Greetings upon Pope's arrival

Pope Leo XIV arrived at Gemelli Hospital at 1:07 p.m. People waited outside applauded and called out greetings as his vehicle entered the hospital grounds.

The Pope greeted members of the hospital’s leadership and briefly approached several patients, including people in wheelchairs, before going inside. Staff, patients, and visitors also gathered along his route through the hospital.

Among those waiting was Aurora, a student at the Catholic University of the Sacred Heart. “I wanted to be here to greet the Holy Father,” she said.

Some religious sisters remained in the hospital’s St. John Paul II Chapel to pray for the Pope. Cardinal Baldassare Reina, the Pope’s Vicar General for the Diocese of Rome, is scheduled to lead the Rosary there at 6 p.m., as parishes and religious communities across the diocese join in prayer.

Elena Beccalli, rector of the Catholic University of the Sacred Heart, conveyed the university community’s affection for Pope Leo and assured him of its prayers during his hospitalization.

“As he is admitted to the hospital, we accompany him with our prayers, mindful of the close bond between our university and the Agostino Gemelli University Hospital Foundation," she told Vatican News. "We are also deeply grateful for his teaching, which urges us to place the dignity of every person at the center and to build dialogue and peace.”

Saint of the Day for Tuesday

 

St. Edward the Confessor

Edward the Confessor was the son of King Ethelred III and his Norman wife, Emma, daughter of Duke Richard I of Normandy. He was born at Islip, England, and sent to Normandy with his mother in the year 1013 when the Danes under Sweyn and his son Canute invaded England. Canute remained in England and the year after Ethelred's death in 1016, married Emma, who had returned to England, and became King of England. Edward remained in Normandy, was brought up a Norman, and in 1042, on the death of his half-brother, Hardicanute, son of Canute and Emma, and largely through the support of the powerful Earl Godwin, he was acclaimed king of England. In 1044, he married Godwin's daughter Edith. His reign was a peaceful one characterized by his good rule and remission of odious taxes, but also by the struggle, partly caused by his natural inclination to favor the Normans, between Godwin and his Saxon supporters and the Norman barons, including Robert of Jumieges, whom Edward had brought with him when he returned to England and whom he named Archbishop of Canterbury in 1051. In the same year, Edward banished Godwin, who took refuge in Flanders but returned the following year with a fleet ready to lead a rebellion. Armed revolt was avoided when the two men met and settled their differences; among them was the Archbishop of Canterbury, which was resolved when Edward replaced Robert with Stigand, and Robert returned to Normandy. Edward's difficulties continued after Godwin's death in 1053 with Godwin's two sons: Harold who had his eye on the throne since Edward was childless, and Tostig, Earl of Northumbria. Tostig was driven from Northumbria by a revolt in 1065 and banished to Europe by Edward, who named Harold his successor. After this Edward became more interested in religious affairs and built St. Peter's Abbey at Westminster, the site of the present Abbey, where he is buried. His piety gained him the surname "the Confessor". He died in London on January 5, and he was canonized in 1161 by Pope Alexander III. His feast day is October 13.

Why the Knights of Columbus is the strong right arm of the Catholic Church; and why we continue to be named for Christopher Columbus

 In the late 19th century, the state of Connecticut was marked by anti-Catholic prejudice and dangerous working conditions in factories that often led to injury and death; leaving families poor or fatherless.  Then 20-year-old Fr. Michael McGiveny gathered a group of men together to do something about these issues.  The meeting took place on October 2, 1881.  McGivney's vision: Establish a lay-led group of Catholic men to unite and help one another and families without fathers; the widows and the orphans.

McGivney wanted an order of men that demonstrated both their love for the Catholic faith and love of country; in other words, patriotism.  So, these earliest Knights took the name of Christopher Columbus, regarded as an American hero in those days and a Catholic explorer credited with finding the way, by sea, to America.  The founding principles of the Order were charity and unity, and then later, fraternity and patriotism.

The Knights of Columbus assumed corporate status on March 29, 1882, in New Haven Connecticut, forever our anniversary and called Founder's Day.

By the end of World War I and through the Great Depression, the Knights of Columbus grew and made a name for themselves with charitable works and confronted the Ku Klux Klan with ant-defamation awareness and education.  By 1954 it would be the Knight of Columbus that campaigned for the addition "under God" in the United States Pledge of Allegiance.  President Dwight D. Eisenhower would sign that law into existence.

In 1966, the Order took concrete action to help eliminate racial discrimination and revised its own admissions criteria and adopted many social justice initiatives.  The insurance operation of the Knights of Columbus grew, by 1975, to over $ 3 billion of insurance in force.  And in 1997, the Knight of Columbus was at the forefront of the Archdiocese of Hartford's efforts to open the cause for the canonization of Fr. Michael McGiveny.

As the Knights of Columbus entered the new millennium, they worked to serve victims of war in Ukraine, supported persecuted Christians in the Middle East and the Holy Land, responded to natural and humanitarian disasters and would provide over 2,000 ultrasound machines to pregnancy centers and so much more.

In 2020, Fr. Michael McGivney would be beatified, just one step shy of canonization.  They served faithfully and robustly during the Covid-19 pandemic.  The order began to grow internationally across Europe, into Ukraine & Poland, in Asia and across the world.  The order has grown to $ 100 billion of insurance in force.  

Today there are 2.2 million members of the Knights of Columbus in over 17,000 local councils in many different countries around the world.  All started by the vision of now Blessed Michael McGiveney under the patronage of the Catholic world explorer Christopher Columbus.

Hospitalization/surgery scheduled for Tuesday, October 13th for Pope Leo XIV; facing one week of recovery time

 

Pope Leo XIV meets with members of the Circolo di San Pietro on Monday morning (VATICAN MEDIA)

Pope

• Pope Leo XIV
• medicine & health

Pope Leo to be admitted to Gemelli Hospital on October 13

Pope Leo XIV will be admitted to Rome’s Gemelli Hospital on Tuesday morning where he will undergo surgery to remove a “small, localized lung nodule,” requiring changes to his scheduled events, according to the Director of the Holy See Press Office.

By Salvatore Cernuzio

Pope Leo XIV is scheduled to be admitted to Rome’s Gemelli Hospital “late in the morning” on Tuesday, October 13, for surgery to remove a localized nodule in his lung.

The Pope announced the upcoming operation at Sunday’s Angelus, explaining that the “small, localized nodule” had been discovered during recent medical examinations.

Responding to journalists’ questions about the Pope’s health on Monday, Matteo Bruni, Director of the Holy See Press Office, clarified that the examinations had been routine checks.

He also confirmed that the Pope’s hospital stay following surgery is expected to last approximately one week, as indicated on Sunday.

Pope Leo, who has received messages of support from Churches and political leaders across all five continents, held all his scheduled audiences on Monday morning.

However, he will not take part in the afternoon session of the meeting in the Paul VI Hall marking the tenth anniversary of the publication of Amoris laetitia.

Changes to the Pope’s schedule

Speaking at a briefing in the Holy See Press Office, Jesuit Fr. Giacomo Costa, who oversees the meeting’s methodology and serves as a consultor to the General Secretariat of the Synod, explained that the surgery and subsequent hospital stay would require changes to how the meeting proceeds.

One change concerns the Mass scheduled for Wednesday, October 14, in St. Peter’s Square, with the meeting’s participants, including heads of Eastern Churches, Presidents of Bishops’ Conferences, married couples, and experts.

Pope Leo will no longer preside at the celebration but has entrusted that role to Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle, Pro-Prefect of the Dicastery for Evangelization and new Dean of the College of Cardinals.

“During the Mass, we will pray especially for the Holy Father’s health, as well as for families,” Fr. Costa said.

Pope wishes to hear meeting’s conclusions

The Pope’s hospitalization will also affect plans for the synthesis report to be prepared at the end of the meeting.

Fr. Costa explained that Pope Leo had wanted to listen to the participants’ conclusions and offer his own reflections.

For that reason, the Pope asked that the report not be published as originally planned, so that he could first hear its contents and respond.

After leaving the hospital, Pope Leo intends to return to the document and the meeting’s other materials before offering his reflections.

“I think this desire of his to listen is beautiful,” Fr. Costa said. He added that the Pope did not want the meeting simply to pass without having the opportunity to offer a word that could support the commitment of the whole Church.

Prayers pour in for Pope Leo ahead of his surgery to remove a nodule from his lung

 

People around the world have united in prayer for Pope Leo XIV (ANSA)

Church

• Pope Leo XIV
• prayer
• medicine & health
• bishops
• ecumenism

Christian leaders unite in prayer for Pope Leo XIV

Church leaders across the globe are praying for Pope Leo XIV and for the medical staff involved in his upcoming surgery to remove a “small, localized nodule” in his lung.

Vatican News

Soon after Pope Leo XIV announced on Sunday that he will undergo surgery this week, prayers have poured in from Christian leaders for his quick recovery.

The Archbishop of Canterbury, Sarah Mullally, promised on X to hold Pope Leo in prayer over the coming days, asking for God’s protection, closeness, and care.

“With Christians across the country and around the world, I pray for the Pope’s swift recovery,” she wrote.

Archbishop Richard Moth, Archbishop of Westminster and President of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales, also called for special prayers.

“I have sent a message on behalf of all in the Catholic Church in England and Wales, assuring him of our prayers,” he said.

Read also

11/10/2026

Pope Leo: I will undergo surgery soon to remove nodule in my lung

11/10/2026

Prayers pour in for Pope Leo XIV's upcoming surgery

Asian bishops call communities to prayer

In Thailand, Archbishop Francis Xavier Vira Arpondratana, President of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference, told LiCAS News that he was surprised, having met the Pope only days earlier.

He invited Catholics throughout Thailand to express their spiritual closeness and prayed that Jesus Christ, the divine physician, would guide the surgeons.

Bishop Peter Suphot Roeksujarit of Chiang Mai invoked the Blessed Mother’s protection. “May the Blessed Mother protect him and remain by his side, allowing him to feel the love and prayers of his children around the world,” he said.

In the Philippines, Archbishop Gilbert Garcera of Lipa, President of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference, asked Bishops and priests to offer Mass for the Pope’s successful operation and recovery.

He also encouraged religious communities, families, and the faithful to offer the Rosary, daily sacrifices, and acts of charity for his healing.

“Let us pray that the Lord may guide his surgeons and all who care for him, sustain him with strength and peace, and restore him to health,” he said.

Bishop Gerardo Alminaza of San Carlos praised the Pope’s openness as an expression of “a humble and trusting leadership,” assuring him of spiritual closeness and support.

Bishop Ruperto Santos of Antipolo likewise promised prayers and Masses, asking God to guide the medical team’s hands, minds, and hearts.

Masses and prayers in North America

In the United States, Cardinal Blase Cupich, Archbishop of Chicago, invited the people of the Pope’s birthplace diocese, to pray for his swift and complete recovery.

He invoked the Holy Spirit’s guidance for the surgeons and the Blessed Mother’s care for Pope Leo.

Cardinal Robert McElroy, Archbishop of Washington, said he had joined Bishops from around the world in prayer in St. Peter’s Basilica. He asked every priest in his Archdiocese to offer Mass for the Pope’s health.

In Canada, the Archdiocese of Toronto invited the faithful to pray for the operation, the medical professionals, and a full recovery.

The message concluded with an invocation to Mary: “Our Lady, Health of the Sick, pray for our shepherd.”

Saint of the Day for Monday

 

St. Carlo Acutis

Feastday: October 12
Patron: of computer programmers and youth
Birth: May 3, 1991
Death: October 12, 2006
Beatified: October 10th, 2020, Basilica of Saint Francis of Assisi, Assisi, Italy, by Agostino Vallini
Canonized: September 7, 2025, by Pope Leo XIV

St. Carlo Acutis was born on May 3, 1991 in London, United Kingdom to Andrea Acutis and Antonia Salzano. His parents were financially well-off and worked in Germany and the United Kingdom before settling down in Milan, Italy in September 1991.

From a young age, around 3, he demonstrated great interest in Catholic churches and often asked to see them. At the age of 7 he received his First holy Communion at the convent of St. Amdrogio and Nemus. He was commonly observed praying before the Tabernacle before and after Mass. He also went to Confession once per week. He enjoyed visiting Assisi where St. Francis is entombed.

In addition to his love for the Church, Acutis was deeply interested in computers and taught himself how to code and build websites while still in primary school. His brief high school career was spent in the care of the Jesuits at the Institute of Leo XIII.

Acutis was also known to give away his pocket money to the poor and to speak up in defense of the disabled. He had a habit of inviting kids to his house whose parents were divorcing to support them.

Acutis used his knowledge of computers and coding to build websites for Catholic organizations. His most popular website was one that listed miracles from around the world based on a catalog he compiled since age 11. He completed the site shortly before his death.

When Acutis developed leukemia as a teenager, he offered up his suffering for Pope Benedict XVI and the Church. He was quoted as saying, "I offer all the suffering I will have to suffer for the Lord, the Pope, and the Church." As part of his devotion, Acutis asked his parents to take him to various Eucharistic shrines, although his declining health made travel increasingly difficult.

Acutis died in on October 12, 2006 at age 15, in Monza, Italy.

Exactly four years following his death, his mother gave birth to twins which she attributed to her son's intercession. She also said her son has appeared to her in dreams foretelling his canonization.

Carlo Acutis was labeled a "Servant of God" in 2013, one of the first steps towards canonization. A miracle was attributed to him in November of 2019. In that miracle, a seven-year-old child who was born with a pancreatic defect was miraculously healed. She prayed to Acutis, asking for his intercession and shortly after, the defect was miraculously cured.

Pope Francis announced the beatification of Carlo Acutis while visiting Assisi, Italy on October 10, and Carlo was canonized on September 7, 2025 by Pope Leo XIV.

St. Carlo Acutis's feast day is October 12, and he is a patron for computer programmers and youth.

Sunday Angelus Address with Pope Leo XIV 10.11.2026

 

Pope

• Pope Leo XIV
• Angelus
• Gospel of the Day

Pope at Angelus: Christian joy is ‘gift of God for world’s salvation’

At the Angelus on Sunday, Pope Leo XIV reflects on Jesus’ parable of the wedding feast, and recalls that Christian joy impels us to share it with others, even at the risk of misunderstandings.

By Devin Watkins

Pope Leo XIV prayed the noon-day Marian prayer of the Angelus on Sunday with pilgrims gathered in St. Peter’s Square.

Read also

11/10/2026

Pope Leo: I will undergo surgery soon to remove nodule in my lung

As the Church celebrated the Twenty-Eighth Sunday in Ordinary Time, the Gospel reading recounted Jesus’ parable of a wedding feast prepared by a king for his son.

In his address, the Pope recalled St. Thomas Aquinas’ saying that “goodness, by its very nature, tends to spread (‘Bonum dicitur diffusivum sui’).”

Read the full text of the Pope's Angelus address

Like the king in the story, we too desire to spread our happiness with others.

However, noted the Pope, Jesus’ parable points out the lack of welcome the king’s joy received.

“Some are annoyed, insult the king’s messengers and even kill them,” he said. “Unfortunately, this can happen to us, too, for the good we offer to do is not always understood, recognized or appreciated.”

Yet, he added, we must not be discouraged when we face rejection but rather go ahead with our plans and invite others to share our joy, like the king.

Read also

11/10/2026

Pope Leo XIV renews appeal for peace in Ukraine

Pope Leo then explored the question of whom the main characters in the story represent.

St. Jerome, the great 5th-century biblical scholar, identified the king with the Heavenly Father, the bridegroom as Jesus, and the bride as the Church.

The Pope said we too are involved in the story, as we belong to the Church and are chosen by the Lord to share our lives with Him and His life with others.

“The wedding feast is ours, and the banquet hall is our churches and homes, the places where we live and where the King’s Son, Jesus Christ, continues to declare His love for us and await our ‘yes’,” he said.

In conclusion, Pope Leo XIV pointed out that Christian joy is not artificial but “profound, concrete, and real.”

Our joy, he said, “is as beautiful as the faces of the people we meet. It is as genuine as the work, the smiles, the tears, the handshakes, and the acts of kindness that fill our days. It is a gift of God for the salvation of the world.”