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From Juliana Taiwo-Obalonye, Abuja
President Bola Tinubu arrived in Rome, Italy, yesterday evening to attend the solemn mass to mark the beginning of the Pontificate of His Holiness Pope Leo XIV, the 267th Bishop of Rome and new leader of the Roman Catholic Church.
The installation mass is scheduled for today, May 18, at St. Peter’s Square in the Vatican.
According to a statement issued by Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, the Tinubu, upon his arrival at Mario De Bernardo Military Airport at 6:00 p.m local time, was received by Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Bianca Odumegwu-Ojukwu, along with officials from the Vatican and the Nigerian Embassy.
The Nigerian leader’s visit followed a personal invitation from Pope Leo XIV, conveyed through Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Vatican’s Secretary of State.
The invitation emphasized the importance of President Tinubu’s presence “at this moment of particular importance for the Catholic Church and the world afflicted by many tensions and conflicts.”
The Pope also expressed a special connection to Nigeria, recalling his time working at the Apostolic Nunciature in Lagos during the 1980s.
President Tinubu’s delegation includes prominent Catholic leaders such as Archbishop Lucius Ugorji of Owerri, 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.
Pope Leo XIV, formerly Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost, was elected as Pope on May 8, 27 days after the death of Pope Francis.
He is the first American-born Pope and the first Augustinian to hold the Papacy.
President Tinubu is expected to return to Abuja on Tuesday, May 20.
