President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has arrived in Rome to join global leaders for the solemn installation mass of His Holiness Pope Leo XIV, the 267th Bishop of Rome and newly elected leader of the Roman Catholic Church.
The significant religious event is scheduled for Sunday, May 18, 2025, at St. Peter’s Basilica in Vatican City.
President Tinubu was welcomed at the Mario De Bernardo Military Airport by Nigeria’s Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Bianca Odumegwu-Ojukwu, alongside senior officials from the Vatican and the Nigerian Embassy in Italy.
The President is in Rome at the personal invitation of Pope Leo XIV, extended through Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Vatican’s Secretary of State. According to the Vatican, the Papal invitation highlights the importance of President Tinubu’s presence at this pivotal moment for the Catholic Church amid ongoing global conflicts and humanitarian challenges.
In his message to President Tinubu, Pope Leo XIV expressed his fond memories of Nigeria, stating, “Your great nation is particularly dear to me, as I worked in the Apostolic Nunciature in Lagos during the 1980s.”
Accompanying President Tinubu is a high-profile Nigerian delegation, including Archbishop Lucius Ugorji, President of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Nigeria and Archbishop of Owerri; Archbishop Ignatius Kaigama of Abuja; Archbishop Alfred Adewale Martins of Lagos; and Bishop Mathew Hassan Kukah of the Sokoto Diocese.
The historic event marks a new chapter for the Catholic Church and strengthens diplomatic and interfaith relations between Nigeria and the Vatican.
