Pope Leo XIV Breaks With Decades of Secrecy by Announcing His Own Surgery

VATICAN CITY — Pope Leo XIV’s decision to personally announce that he will undergo surgery to remove a nodule from one of his lungs has been welcomed as an unprecedented gesture of transparency in the recent history of the papacy.

The surprise announcement Sunday, Oct. 11, stunned hundreds of pilgrims gathered in St. Peter’s Square for the Angelus prayer.

By speaking directly about his health, the pontiff departed from a long-standing Vatican practice of limiting information about papal illnesses and medical treatment.

Traditionally, the health of popes has been shrouded in considerable secrecy. For decades, illnesses and hospitalizations were disclosed only in limited terms and sometimes incompletely.

In 1992, for example, St. John Paul II announced that he would enter the hospital for medical tests but did not explain why. Only three days later did the Vatican disclose that he had undergone surgery to remove a benign tumor from his colon.

Under Pope Francis, a greater degree of openness began to emerge. During his various hospitalizations, the Holy See issued medical bulletins about his condition and, in some cases, arranged briefings by the doctors treating him.

Even troubling details of the Argentine pontiff’s hospitalizations were disclosed, including respiratory crises during his final illness before his death in 2025.

Nevertheless, the information continued to come primarily through official Vatican channels rather than directly from the Pope himself.

In earlier decades, secrecy surrounding papal health had contributed to controversies such as the death of John Paul I in 1978. The limited information released after his death, just 33 days after his election, fueled years of questions and speculation about the circumstances.

Against that historical background, Leo XIV’s decision to announce his own upcoming surgery represents a significant departure from tradition.

Senior cardinals interviewed by EWTN News described the disclosure as a shift in how the Vatican communicates about the health of the pope.

Cardinal Michael Czerny, prefect emeritus of the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development, linked the decision to the spirit of fraternity promoted in Pope Francis’ encyclical Fratelli Tutti.

“In the spirit of Fratelli Tutti, it is a sign of fraternity to share your illness with those who care for you,” Cardinal Czerny said.

“And to say that the whole world cares for Pope Leo is not an exaggeration; it’s a fact. So I see his openness or transparency as an expression of both humility and truth.”

Cardinal Czerny emphasized that the concern and prayers prompted by the announcement reflected the communion of the Church and the wider human family with the successor of Peter.

“Now, every feeling of concern, every hopeful prayer of whatever kind, is the human family expressing communion with an esteemed leader and father who we know loves us,” he said.

“May God bless Pope Leo and bring him back to us, healthy as ever!”

Cardinal Czerny is scheduled to receive the first Pope Leo XIV Sustainability Medal on Tuesday afternoon at Borgo Laudato Si’, located on the grounds of the papal villas at Castel Gandolfo. The pope had been expected to attend the ceremony, but his participation was canceled.

Cardinal Víctor Manuel Fernández, prefect of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, said hearing the news directly from the pope had provoked a mixture of painful surprise, fear, and fraternal affection, along with a sense of closeness and honesty.

“Hearing the news directly from the pope caused me painful surprise, fear, fraternal affection, but at the same time a sense of intimacy, closeness, openness without masks, of great honesty toward us,” Cardinal Fernández said.

“It is impossible not to feel personally involved when you hear the pope tell his truth in that way, acknowledge the frailty of his flesh and at the same time his serene confidence,” he added.

Cardinal Fernández said that, paradoxically, the troubling news had deepened the sense of communion within the Church.

“Mysteriously, bad news thus becomes a deeply felt expression of ecclesial communion and affection for that father who unites us,” he said. “I experienced a powerful sense of how valuable it is for the Church to have that father.”

Cardinal Tarcisio Isao Kikuchi, archbishop of Tokyo and president of Caritas Internationalis, offered a firsthand account of the pope’s condition after meeting with him Monday, Oct. 12.

The audience, Cardinal Kikuchi explained, had been arranged long in advance as part of the annual meeting in which the president and secretary-general of Caritas Internationalis report on the organization’s activities to the pope.

“Holy Father was as usual and calm with no sign of sickness,” Cardinal Kikuchi told EWTN News.

“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 [the] Latin America pastoral visit.”

The Pope is scheduled to travel to South America Nov. 6–17.

Cardinal Kikuchi said he also joked with Leo XIV about the wisdom of publicly announcing the surgery.

“I told him jokingly that his decision to make it public was prudent to prevent speculation of [the] public who would be next pope. For this he smiled,” the cardinal recalled.

“But I really believe so that he made really a prudent decision to avoid any speculation or gossiping,” Cardinal Kikuchi added.

The cardinal’s account suggests that Leo XIV’s decision to disclose his medical condition was intended not only to inform the faithful but also to forestall rumors about the future of the papacy.

For the cardinals who spoke to EWTN News, the announcement marks a notable change in Vatican communications, with the pope choosing to speak openly about his vulnerability while expressing confidence about his treatment and his plans to continue his ministry.