Tinubu to join world leaders at Pope’s inauguration

President Bola Tinubu is set to depart Abuja for Rome on Saturday following an official invitation from Pope Leo XIV.

According to a statement released on Thursday by Mr. Bayo Onanuga, Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Tinubu will attend a solemn mass commemorating the inauguration of His Holiness Pope Leo XIV as the 267th Bishop of Rome and head of the Roman Catholic Church.

The statement, titled ‘Pope Leo XIV Invites President Tinubu to His Inauguration on Sunday’, noted that the invitation came through Cardinal Pietro Parolin. In it, the Pope emphasized the importance of President Tinubu’s presence at this significant moment for the Catholic Church and the broader global community, currently facing various tensions and conflicts.

Pope Leo XIV, who once served in the Apostolic Nunciature in Lagos during the 1980s, expressed his affection for Nigeria, describing it as a nation close to his heart.

President Tinubu will be accompanied by a high-level delegation, including the Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Bianca Odumegwu-Ojukwu; Archbishop Lucius Ugorji of Owerri and President of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Nigeria; Archbishop Ignatius Kaigama of Abuja; Archbishop Alfred Martins of Lagos; and Bishop Mathew Kukah of the Sokoto Diocese.

The formal installation of Pope Leo XIV, formerly Cardinal Robert Prevost, will take place on Sunday, May 18, at St. Peter’s Square in the Vatican. He was elected 27 days after the passing of Pope Francis on April 21.

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