By Admin
President Bola Tinubu is set to leave Abuja for Rome, Italy’s capital, on Saturday following an invitation from Pope Leo XIV.
According to a statement by presidential spokesman Bayo Onanuga, Mr Tinubu will be accompanied by senior Catholic figures to attend a mass commemorating the start of the Pontificate of Pope Leo XIV, the 267th Bishop of Rome and new head of the Roman Catholic Church.
The invitation, issued by Cardinal Pietro Parolin on behalf of the Pope, emphasized the significance of Mr Tinubu being present “at this moment of particular importance for the Catholic Church and the world afflicted by many tensions and conflicts.”
Pope Leo XIV added: “Your great nation is particularly dear to me as I worked in the Apostolic Nunciature in Lagos during the 1980s.”
Among those traveling with Mr Tinubu are Bianca Odumegwu-Ojukwu, Minister of State for Foreign Affairs; Archbishop Lucius Ugorji of Owerri, who also serves as president of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Nigeria; Archbishop Ignatius Kaigama of Abuja; and Archbishop Alfred Martins of Lagos.
Also joining the delegation is Mathew Hassan Kukah, the Catholic Bishop of Sokoto Diocese.
Pope Leo XIV, previously known as Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost, will be officially inaugurated on Sunday, May 18, during a ceremony at St. Peter’s Square in the Vatican.
The College of Cardinals elected him 27 days after the passing of Pope Francis on April 21.
President Tinubu is expected to return to Abuja on Tuesday, May 20.
