PRESIDENT Bola Tinubu will depart Abuja on Saturday, May 17, for Rome to attend the inauguration of Pope Leo XIV, the newly elected head of the Roman Catholic Church.
The trip follows an official invitation by the Pope to the Nigerian leader through Cardinal Pietro Parolin requesting the president to be present at the ceremony, according to a statement by the Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga Thursday evening.
The statement described the inauguration as “a moment of particular importance for the Catholic Church and the world afflicted by many tensions and conflicts.”
The solemn mass marking the beginning of Pope Leo’s pontificate is scheduled to take place on Sunday, May 18, at St. Peter’s Square in the Vatican.
The ICIR reported that Pope Leo XIV, formerly Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost, was elected by the Conclave of Cardinals 27 days after the passing of Pope Francis on April 21. He becomes the 267th Bishop of Rome.
Pope Leo, who once served in the Apostolic Nunciature in Lagos during the 1980s, described Nigeria as “particularly dear” to him.
Tinubu will be accompanied by a high-level delegation comprising the Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Bianca Odumegwu-Ojukwu; Archbishop Lucius Ugorji, President of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Nigeria; Archbishop Ignatius Kaigama of Abuja; Archbishop Alfred Martins of Lagos; and Bishop Matthew Hassan Kukah of Sokoto Diocese.
The ICIR reports that some of the people accompanying Tinubu to the inauguration were part of Nigerian delegation to the funeral of the late Pope Francis.
Tinubu and his team is expected to return to Abuja on Tuesday, May 20.