Pope Leo XIV announced Sunday he will undergo surgery in the coming days to remove a nodular lesion on his lung that was recently discovered during medical checks.

The 71-year-old pope said the nodule was found at an early stage and was “circumscribed” or well-localized. The Vatican later said Leo would undergo surgery in the first days of the week, with an expected recovery time of a week.

The American pope made the announcement during his Sunday noon blessing. He thanked the crowd for their closeness and entrusted himself to their prayers.

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, according to the American Cancer Society. Often, the scans are done to investigate trauma or a lung infection, unrelated to a lung cancer screening.