President Bola Tinubu will depart Nigeria for Rome, Italy, on Saturday to attend the inauguration mass of Pope Leo XIV, the newly elected leader of the Roman Catholic Church.
The mass is scheduled for Sunday, May 18, at St. Peter’s Square in the Vatican and will mark the official start of Pope Leo XIV’s pontificate. Tinubu’s visit follows an invitation from the Vatican, extended after the Pope’s election by the Conclave of Cardinals.
In a letter to the President, Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin says Tinubu’s presence is “significant at this moment of particular importance for the Catholic Church and the world afflicted by many tensions and conflicts.”
Pope Leo XIV, formerly Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost, recalls his time in Nigeria during the 1980s, stating that the country remains dear to him.
Tinubu will be accompanied by top Catholic clerics in Nigeria, including Archbishop Lucius Ugorji of Owerri, Archbishop Ignatius Kaigama of Abuja, Archbishop Alfred Martins of Lagos, and Bishop Matthew Hassan Kukah of Sokoto. Also on the delegation is the Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Bianca Odumegwu-Ojukwu.
The President is expected to return to Abuja on Tuesday, May 20.
