Prayer to Jesus the Divine Physician Lord Jesus, Divine Physician, we kneel before you. Because your love is all-powerful, we ask you to stretch forth your healing hand upon Pope Leo XIV. Strengthen Pope Leo XIV to accept this cross of suffering, and if it be your will, grant him a miraculous healing, that your mercy may be made known. Amen. Pope Leo XIV left the Vatican on Tuesday bound for the hospital to have a lung nodule removed, an operation that experts say will determine whether the lesion is malignant and if other treatment is needed. The 71-year-old American pontiff has offered a rare level of transparency about the first publicly disclosed major health problem of his 17-month papacy. He revealed the discovery of the small, localized nodule during his Sunday noon prayer and announced that he would have it removed. The surgery, which is usually performed under general anesthesia, will require a weeklong hospital stay and the Vatican on Monday canceled all Leo’s audiences through Oct. 20. “These are things that can be treated very well, if the words he used reflect the clinical situation,” said Dr. Lorenzo Spaggiari, director of thoracic surgery at the European Institute of Oncology, or EIO, in Milan, who is not involved in the pope’s care but knows the team at Gemelli. The technique involves the surgeon making four small incisions in the chest through which the instruments of the so-called da Vinci robot are inserted, he said. The surgeon then controls the robotic arms looking at a screen providing high-definition, 3D views of the surgical site. “It’s a very well-established technology. This is something we have been doing for 20 years,” he said. It wasn't known for certain what technique would be used on Leo. Gemelli has documented using both robotic procedures to diagnose and operate in under four hours. The biopsy risk is “virtually zero,” while the surgical risk is very small, carrying a 0.6% to 0.8% mortality rate for patients in otherwise good health with good heart and lung function, Spaggiari said. Please pray for Pope Leo XIV's recovery. #Pope #PopeLeo #catholic #catholicism #catholictiktoker - @catholicdailypray