Business as usual at the Vatican as Pope Leo prepares to have surgery to remove a lung nodule

VATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Leo XIV had a full day of meetings, audiences and appointments on Monday, and seemed in fine form a day after revealing he would have an operation this week to remove a lung nodule discovered during recent medical tests.

The 71-year-old Leo presided over an audience with members of a Rome-based charity, the Circolo San Pietro, and received a donation from them. He spoke in a strong, clear voice, praising their service and sacrifice. The crowd gave him a rousing round of applause afterward.

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.

The Vatican press office said Monday that no particular issue precipitated the tests, denying Italian media reports suggesting an inflammation had prompted Leo to undergo a medical checkup.

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 the San Pietro gathering. He also made three appointments, and the Vatican released a letter he had penned to the outgoing dean of the College of Cardinals, thanking him for his service. The letter was signed on Sunday.

In the afternoon, he was expected to rejoin a weeklong conference he convened on ministering to families.

Leo's surgery marks the first major health event of his 17-month pontificate. It was significant because the pope himself revealed the news, in perhaps the most public way possible: at the end of his Sunday noon blessing, with thousands of people in St. Peter's Square.

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.

A lung nodule is a small abnormal area measuring less than 3 centimeters (1 inch) that sometimes appears on a CT scan of the chest or abdomen. Often, the scans are done to investigate trauma or a lung infection, unrelated to a lung cancer screening. A nodule can be benign or malignant, and oftentimes surgical removal is recommended to ascertain whether it is cancerous since performing a lung biopsy by needle can be difficult.

Oncologists say if the nodule turns out to be cancerous, Leo's prognosis is “excellent” since it will have been removed at an early stage.

Unlike his predecessor Pope Francis, whose decade-long respiratory problems made him speak in a whisper, Leo tends to project his voice and frequently sings his prayers.

Barry reported from Milan

Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the AP’s collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content.

Pope Leo XIV delivers the Angelus prayer in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican, Sunday, Oct. 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)

The statue of late Pope John Paul II is pictured at the Agostino Gemelli Polyclinic in Rome, Sunday, Oct. 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)

The statue of late Pope John Paul II, center, is pictured at the Agostino Gemelli Polyclinic in Rome, Sunday, Oct. 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)

People walk past the main entrance of the Agostino Gemelli Polyclinic where Pope Leo XIV is scheduled to be hospitalized in the next days to remove a lung nodule, in Rome, Monday, Oct. 12, 2026. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)

Pope Leo XIV delivers the Angelus prayer in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican, Sunday, Oct. 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)

NEW DELHI (AP) — India’s opposition parties marched toward the Supreme Court on Monday to protest a purge of voter lists they say favors Prime Minister Narendra Modi's party, after police detained thousands of activists over the weekend in a sweeping crackdown.

Opposition lawmakers and their supporters sought to submit a petition to the chief justice demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar.

Protests led by the “Cockroach” youth movement have intensified since election authorities began the revision last year, removing more than 130 million voters from the lists. Critics say the process is politically motivated and risks disenfranchising eligible voters. Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party and the Election Commission deny allegations of manipulation, saying the move is needed to remove duplicate and ineligible names.

Ahead of the march, authorities closed six metro stations in the capital on Monday and warned of traffic disruptions.

Opposition leader Rahul Gandhi of the Congress party described the growing protests as a fight to defend the constitution.

“We will not back down,” he told reporters in New Delhi.

Gandhi, scion of India’s most influential political dynasty, is seeking to turn the protests into a broader challenge to Modi.

Police detained thousands of demonstrators in New Delhi over the weekend, including leaders of the “Cockroach” movement. Modi has not publicly commented on the protests, but leaders of his party have dismissed them, with some calling the activists “anarchists.”

Meanwhile, New Delhi police announced Monday that Jantar Mantar, a longtime site of mass protests in the capital, would no longer be a designated venue for rallies. Police said three replacement sites had been chosen.

The “Cockroach” movement earlier this year staged a sit-in at Jantar Mantar that lasted for weeks, forcing the resignation of Modi’s education minister in July.

A security personnel member arrives to escort workers of India's opposition Congress party as they gather for a march toward the Supreme Court demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar in New Delhi, India, Monday, Oct. 12, 2026. (AP Photo/Manish Swarup)

Security personnel watch as workers of India's opposition Congress party gather for a march toward the Supreme Court demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar in New Delhi, India, Monday, Oct. 12, 2026. (AP Photo/Manish Swarup)

A commuter watches as security personnel arrive to escort workers of India's opposition Congress party gathering for a march toward the Supreme Court to demand the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar in New Delhi, India, Monday, Oct. 12, 2026. (AP Photo/Manish Swarup)

Workers of India's opposition Congress party shout slogans atop a bus as they gather for a march toward the Supreme Court demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar in New Delhi, India, Monday, Oct. 12, 2026. (AP Photo/Manish Swarup)

Security personnel in riot gear arrive to escort workers of India's opposition Congress party as they gather for a march toward the Supreme Court demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar in New Delhi, India, Monday, Oct. 12, 2026. (AP Photo/Manish Swarup)