President Bola Ahmed Tinubu will depart Abuja for Rome, the capital of Italy, on Saturday to attend the inauguration of Pope Leo XIV following an invation from the head of Catholics world-wide.
The event will mark the beginning of Pope Leo XIV’s pontificate as the 267th Overall Pope . The Ceremony will take place on May 18 at St. Peter’s Square in the Vatican.
A statement from the Presidential spokesperson, Bayo Onanuga disclosed that President will be Accompanied by top Catholic leaders, to attend a solemn mass marking the beginning of the Pontificate of His Holiness Pope Leo XIV, the 267th Bishop of Rome and the new leader of the Roman Catholic Church.
Onanuga said ” In the Papal invitation sent by Cardinal Pietro Parolin, Pope Leo XIV underscored the need for President Tinubu’s physical presence “at this moment of particular importance for the Catholic Church and the world afflicted by many tensions and conflicts”.
Pope Leo further stressed: “Your great nation is particularly dear to me as I worked in the Apostolic Nunciature in Lagos during the 1980s.”
President Tinubu’s entourage will include the Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Bianca Odumegwu-Ojukwu, Archbishop of Owerri and President of Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Nigeria, Archbishop Lucius Ugorji, Archbishop Ignatius Kaigama of Abuja, and Alfred Martins of Lagos.
The Catholic Bishop of Sokoto Diocese, Mathew Hassan Kukah, is also in the president’s entourage.”
The New Pontiff was elected pope on May 8 after a relatively short voting period. He is the first American to lead the Catholic Church
The President is expected back to Abuja on Tuesday, May 20.
