President Bola Tinubu will travel to Rome, Italy, on Saturday to attend the formal inauguration of Pope Leo XIV at St Peter’s Square, following an invitation extended by the new pontiff.
The announcement was made by the Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, who said the visit underscores Nigeria’s long-standing ties with the Vatican and the global Catholic community.
According to Onanuga, the President will be accompanied by senior figures from Nigeria’s Catholic hierarchy to participate in the special Mass marking the commencement of Pope Leo XIV’s papacy as the 267th Bishop of Rome.
The invitation, delivered by Cardinal Pietro Parolin on behalf of Pope Leo XIV, noted that the ceremony represents “a moment of particular importance for the Catholic Church and the world afflicted by many tensions and conflicts”.
In a message to President Tinubu, the Pope shared a personal connection to Nigeria.
“Your great nation is particularly dear to me as I worked in the Apostolic Nunciature in Lagos during the 1980s,” he recalled.
Joining President Tinubu on the trip will be the Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Bianca Odumegwu-Ojukwu; Archbishop Lucius Ugorji of Owerri, who also serves as President of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Nigeria; Archbishop Ignatius Kaigama of Abuja; Archbishop Alfred Martins of Lagos; and Bishop Mathew Hassan Kukah of the Sokoto Diocese.
Pope Leo XIV, formerly known as Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost, will be formally installed during the ceremony scheduled for Sunday, May 18.
His election by the College of Cardinals came 17 days after the death of Pope Francis on April 21.
The new pope, the first from the United States, now leads the global Catholic community, comprising over 1.4 billion adherents.
President Tinubu is expected to return to Nigeria on Tuesday, May 20, according to the official statement.
