President Bola Ahmed Tinubu will depart for Rome, Italy, on Saturday, following an invitation from Pope Leo XIV to attend his official inauguration mass at St. Peter’s Square in the Vatican on Sunday, May 18.
According to a statement issued on Thursday by Bayo Onanuga, Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, the trip comes in response to a formal invitation extended by Cardinal Pietro Parolin on behalf of the new Supreme Pontiff, who described the event as a “moment of particular importance for the Catholic Church and the world afflicted by many tensions and conflicts.”
The solemn mass inaugurating the Pontificate of His Holiness Pope Leo XIV, the 267th Bishop of Rome, is scheduled for Sunday, May 18, at St. Peter’s Square in the Vatican.
In the official invitation delivered through Cardinal Pietro Parolin, Pope Leo XIV emphasized the significance of President Tinubu’s presence at the ceremony, describing it as “a 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, also expressed a personal connection to Nigeria, saying, “Your great nation is particularly dear to me as I worked in the Apostolic Nunciature in Lagos during the 1980s.”
The President’s delegation to Rome includes several senior religious and government figures: 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; and Archbishop Alfred Martins of Lagos. Also accompanying the president is Bishop Matthew Hassan Kukah, Catholic Bishop of Sokoto Diocese.
Pope Leo XIV was elected by the Conclave of Cardinals 27 days after the passing of Pope Francis on April 21. His election marks a new era in the Church, with high hopes for global peace and unity.
President Tinubu is expected to return to Abuja on Tuesday, May 20.
