Pope Leo cancels all events until October 20 due to planned lung surgery

VATICAN CITY, Oct 12 (Reuters) — Pope Leo has canceled all his planned public events until October 20, the Vatican said on Monday, ahead of his hospitalisation to remove a small growth found on one of his lungs. Leo, 71, said on Sunday that the growth, a small nodule, had been found on a recent check-up, was "well-contained" and had been spotted early. The pope is expected to enter Rome's Gemelli hospital in the "late morning" on Tuesday, the Vatican press office said earlier on Monday. It did not specify when the actual operation would take place. (Reporting by Joshua McElwee, editing by Alvise Armellini) ((joshua.mcelwee@thomsonreuters.com;)