By David Akinadewo-Adekahunsi
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu will travel to Rome on Saturday, May 17, to attend the inauguration of His Holiness Pope Leo XIV, following an official invitation from the Vatican.
The invitation, extended by Cardinal Pietro Parolin on behalf of the newly elected Pontiff, emphasised the significance of President Tinubu’s presence at what the Pope described 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, was elected as the 267th Bishop of Rome by the Conclave of Cardinals, 27 days after the passing of Pope Francis on April 21.
His inauguration is set to take place on Sunday, May 18, in a solemn mass at St. Peter’s Square in the Vatican.
In a personal note contained within the formal invitation, the new Pontiff recalled his earlier years in Nigeria, stating: “Your great nation is particularly dear to me as I worked in the Apostolic Nunciature in Lagos during the 1980s.”
According to a statement issued by the Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga on Thursday, Tinubu will be joined by a delegation comprising both governmental and ecclesiastical figures.
Notable among them are Ambassador Bianca Odumegwu-Ojukwu, Minister of State for Foreign Affairs; Archbishop Lucius Ugorji, President of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Nigeria; Archbishop Ignatius Kaigama of Abuja; Archbishop Alfred Martins of Lagos; and Bishop Mathew Hassan Kukah of the Sokoto Diocese.
The President is expected to return to Abuja on Tuesday, May 20.
