Report by Bello Wakili; Editing by Basirat Memudu
President Bola Tinubu has arrived in Rome, Italy, to join other world leaders at the 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.
The installation mass will take place today, May 18, 2025.
President Tinubu was received at the Mario De Bernardo Military Airport by the Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Bianca Odumegwu-Ojukwu, officials from Vatican City, and the Nigerian Embassy.
The President is in Rome to honour the new Pope’s invitation, conveyed by Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Vatican’s Secretary of State.
A statement says the Papal invitation underscores the need for President Tinubu’s physical presence at a moment, the Pope views as of particular importance for the Catholic Church and the world afflicted by many tensions and conflicts.
“Your great nation is particularly dear to me as I worked in the Apostolic Nunciature in Lagos during the 1980s,” Pope Leo XIV further said in the invitation.
President Tinubu’s entourage includes the Archbishop of Owerri and President of the 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.
