Rome: President Bola Tinubu 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 installation mass of the 267th Bishop of Rome and the new leader of the Roman Catholic Church is set to take place on Sunday, May 18.
According to News Agency of Nigeria, President Tinubu was received at the Mario De Bernardo Military Airport by Amb. Bianca Odumegwu-Ojukwu, Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, and officials from Vatican City and the Nigerian Embassy after his plane landed at 6:00 p.m. local time. Tinubu's visit to Rome is in response to an invitation from the new Pope, conveyed by Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Vatican's Secretary of State.
The invitation highlighted the importance of Tinubu's presence 'at this moment of particular importance for the Catholic Church and the world afflicted by many tensions and conflicts.' Pope Leo XIV expressed a special connection to Nigeria, recalling his time working at the Apostolic Nunciature in Lagos during the 1980s.
Joining President Tinubu in his entourage are prominent Catholic figures from Nigeria, including 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. Mathew Hassan Kukah, the Catholic Bishop of Sokoto Diocese, is also part of the delegation.