Tinubu to Attend Inauguration of Pope Leo XIV in Vatican
On Saturday, May 17, President Bola Tinubu will depart Abuja for Rome to attend the inauguration of Pope Leo XIV, who was elected leader of the Roman Catholic Church on May 8 by the Cardinals.
The 267th Bishop of Rome, who succeeded the late Pope Francis, will be inaugurated on Sunday, May 18, at St. Peter’s Square in the Vatican.
“Your great nation is particularly dear to me, as I worked in the Apostolic Nunciature in Lagos during the 1980s,” the Pope said in his invitation to Tinubu.
According to a statement by Bayo Onanuga, Special Adviser to the President, Tinubu was invited by the Pope and will be joined by top Catholic leaders, including the Archbishop of Owerri and President of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Nigeria, Archbishop Lucius Ugorji; Archbishop Ignatius Kaigama of Abuja; and Archbishop Alfred Martins of Lagos.
The Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Bianca Odumegwu-Ojukwu, and the Catholic Bishop of Sokoto Diocese, Matthew Hassan Kukah, are also in the president’s entourage.
President Tinubu is expected to return to Nigeria on Tuesday, May 20.
