President Bola Tinubu will leave Abuja for Rome, Italy, on Saturday at the invitation of Pope Leo XIV.
Accompanied by prominent Catholic leaders, President Tinubu will participate in a solemn mass to celebrate the beginning of Pope Leo XIV’s pontificate as the 267th Bishop of Rome and the new head of the Roman Catholic Church, according to a statement from Tinubu’s Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Mr. Bayo Onanuga.
The statement, titled “Pope Leo XIV invites President Tinubu to his inauguration on Sunday,” details the Papal invitation sent by Cardinal Pietro Parolin, which emphasizes the importance of President Tinubu’s presence at this significant moment for the Catholic Church and the world, which is facing various tensions and conflicts.
The Pope noted, “Your great nation is particularly dear to me as I worked in the Apostolic Nunciature in Lagos during the 1980s.”
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President Tinubu’s delegation includes the Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Bianca Odumegwu-Ojukwu; Archbishop Lucius Ugorji, President of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Nigeria; Archbishop Ignatius Kaigama of Abuja; Archbishop Alfred Martins of Lagos; and the Catholic Bishop of Sokoto Diocese, Mathew Kukah.
Pope Leo XIV, previously Cardinal Robert Prevost, will be formally installed on Sunday, May 18, at St. Peter’s Square in the Vatican, following his election by the Conclave of Cardinals 27 days after the death of his predecessor, Pope Francis, on April 21.
President Tinubu is expected to return to Abuja on Tuesday, May 20.
