By Charles Maduka
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 trip, according to a statement from the President’s Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, follows an invitation from the Vatican after the Conclave of Cardinals elected Pope Leo XIV.
The inauguration mass is scheduled to hold on Sunday, May 18, at St. Peter’s Square in the Vatican City, formally launching the new pontificate.
In a letter sent to President Tinubu, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, on behalf of the Pope, described Tinubu’s presence as significant “at this moment of particular importance for the Catholic Church and the world afflicted by many tensions and conflicts.”
Pope Leo, in his message, recalled his time in Nigeria, stating, “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 leading figures from Nigeria’s Catholic community, including Archbishop Lucius Ugorji of Owerri (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.
Ambassador Bianca Odumegwu-Ojukwu, Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, is also listed as part of the delegation.
Pope Leo XIV, formerly Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost, was chosen 27 days after the passing of Pope Francis on April 21.
Tinubu is expected to return to Abuja on Tuesday, May 20.
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