Cardinal Parolin says Pope Leo XIV is calm after lung nodule diagnosis
Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin said he had spoken with Pope Leo XIV, who was admitted to the hospital to have a nodule confined to the lung removed. He asked Catholics to pray for him
Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Vatican secretary of state, responded to concern over Pope Leo XIV's admission to the hospital for the removal of a nodule confined to the lung. He spoke at a conference at the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome on John Paul I and his legacy of work for peace.
Parolin said he had spoken with the pope personally and found him calm. "We are all impressed by the calm he has shown," he said, referring to the message Leo XIV gave the faithful during last Sunday's Angelus. "We hope, as he himself has said, that we are at the start of this difficulty and that the problem is resolved as soon as possible," he added.
Parolin also asked Catholics to stay close to the pope with their prayers and affection at this time. "We are confident and, naturally, we all accompany him with our prayer and our affection," he said. He said that although the situation was unexpected, it had been caught in time to be treated effectively.
The early detection of the nodule was central to the cardinal's remarks. "Normally, when these things are detected in time, they can be overcome," Parolin said.
Global support from the Catholic world
The news of the hospital admission has prompted prayers and messages of affection across the Catholic world. Parolin said that response reflected the regard the faithful have for Leo XIV, and he encouraged everyone to stay close to him throughout his recovery.
Asked by a journalist whether the news had been "a bolt from the blue," Parolin said it had, acknowledging that the diagnosis came as a surprise. He recalled the pope's own words about the "surprises of God."
