President Tinubu to attend Pope Leo XIV’s inauguration in Rome

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu will depart Abuja on Saturday for Rome, Italy, to attend the inauguration of Pope Leo XIV as the new head of the Roman Catholic Church.

The visit was confirmed in a statement released on X (formerly Twitter) by Bayo Onanuga, Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy.

According to the statement, Tinubu is travelling at the invitation of the Vatican and will lead Nigeria’s delegation to the solemn installation mass scheduled for Sunday, May 18, at St. Peter’s Square.

The inauguration marks the formal beginning of the Pontificate of Pope Leo XIV, the 267th Bishop of Rome.

He succeeds Pope Francis, who died on April 21. Pope Leo, formerly Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost, was elected by the Conclave of Cardinals 27 days later.

The Vatican invitation, signed by Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin, stressed the importance of President Tinubu’s presence at the event, describing it as “a moment of particular importance for the Catholic Church and the world afflicted by many tensions and conflicts.”

Pope Leo XIV also expressed a personal connection to Nigeria, stating: “Your great nation is particularly dear to me as I worked in the Apostolic Nunciature in Lagos during the 1980s.”

The President will be accompanied by a delegation that 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 Bishop Matthew Hassan Kukah of the Sokoto Diocese.

President Tinubu is expected to return to Abuja on Tuesday, May 20.