President Bola Tinubu will travel to Rome, Italy, on Saturday, May 17, to attend the inauguration of Pope Leo XIV, following an official invitation from the Vatican.
Pope Leo XIV, formerly Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost, will be formally installed as the 267th Bishop of Rome and the head of the Roman Catholic Church at a solemn mass on Sunday, May 18, at St. Peter’s Square in the Vatican. His election by the Conclave of Cardinals comes 27 days after the death of Pope Francis on April 21.
In a personal message delivered through Cardinal Pietro Parolin, Pope Leo XIV emphasized the significance of Tinubu’s presence at the ceremony, calling it “a moment of particular importance for the Catholic Church and the world afflicted by many tensions and conflicts.”
The new pontiff also recalled his connection to Nigeria, saying, “Your great nation is particularly dear to me as I worked in the Apostolic Nunciature in Lagos during the 1980s.”
President Tinubu will be accompanied by several key figures, including 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 Bishop Matthew Hassan Kukah of Sokoto Diocese.
The president is expected to return to Abuja on Tuesday, May 20.
The announcement was made in a statement issued by Bayo Onanuga, Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, on Wednesday, May 15.