Vatican says surgery that will determine whether the nodule is malignant will take place on Tuesday afternoon

Pope Leo has been admitted to hospital in Rome for an operation to remove a small growth from his lung, a discovery a top Vatican cardinal said had come “like a bolt out of the blue”.

In a rare moment of Vatican transparency, Leo, 71, said during his angelus prayer on Sunday that doctors had found a small nodule on his lung during a check-up, adding that it was “well-contained” and detected early.