President Bola Ahmed Tinubu will depart Abuja for Rome on Saturday, May 17, to attend the formal inauguration of Pope Leo XIV as the 267th Bishop of Rome and spiritual leader of the Roman Catholic Church.
According to Bayo Onanuga, Special Adviser to the President on Information & Strategy on Thursday the invitation was extended by the Vatican through Cardinal Pietro Parolin, who emphasized the symbolic importance of the President’s attendance. “Your great nation is particularly dear to me as I worked in the Apostolic Nunciature in Lagos during the 1980s,” Pope Leo said in the invitation. He described the moment as one “of particular importance for the Catholic Church and the world afflicted by many tensions and conflicts.”
The solemn mass marking the beginning of the new Pontificate is scheduled for Sunday, May 18, at St. Peter’s Square in Vatican City.
President Tinubu will be accompanied by a high-level delegation, including Ambassador Bianca Odumegwu-Ojukwu, Minister of State for Foreign Affairs; Archbishop Lucius Ugorji, President of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Nigeria and Archbishop of Owerri; Archbishop Ignatius Kaigama of Abuja; Archbishop Alfred Martins of Lagos; and Bishop Mathew Hassan Kukah of Sokoto Diocese.
Pope Leo XIV, formerly Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost, was elected by the Conclave of Cardinals 27 days after the passing of Pope Francis on April 21.
President Tinubu is expected to return to Abuja on Tuesday, May 20.