Tinubu Joins Global Leaders in Rome for Historic Inauguration of Pope Leo XIV
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu arrived in Rome, Italy, on Saturday to participate in the official installation mass of Pope Leo XIV, the newly elected leader of the Roman Catholic Church and 267th Bishop of Rome.
The solemn ceremony is scheduled for Sunday, May 18, and will draw world leaders and dignitaries from across the globe.
Upon his arrival at Mario De Bernardo Military Airport at 6 p.m. local time, President Tinubu was received by Ambassador Bianca Odumegwu-Ojukwu, Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, alongside officials from Vatican City and the Nigerian Embassy.
President Tinubu is attending the event in response to a personal invitation from Pope Leo XIV, conveyed through Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Vatican Secretary of State. The invitation emphasized the significance of Tinubu’s presence at what the Pope described as “a moment of particular importance for the Catholic Church and the world afflicted by many tensions and conflicts.”
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The Pope also expressed a personal connection to Nigeria, recalling his time working in the Apostolic Nunciature in Lagos during the 1980s.
Accompanying the President are prominent figures from Nigeria’s Catholic leadership, including Archbishop Lucius Ugorji of Owerri and President of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Nigeria, Archbishop Ignatius Kaigama of Abuja, Archbishop Alfred Martins of Lagos, and Bishop Mathew Hassan Kukah of Sokoto Diocese.
