President Bola Tinubu will be departing Abuja to join other world leaders who will be attending the inauguration Mass of Pope Leo XIV, scheduled to take place at St. Peter’s Square in the Vatican, Rome, Italy.
Tinubu will join other guest in the ceremony described as a moment of deep significance for the Catholic Church and the global community, especially in light of current global tensions.
In a statement released by the Special Adviser to the president on Information and strategy, Bayo Onanuga, the president would be leaving the country on Saturday, May 17, 2025 for the event scheduled for the next day.
The president’s invitation to the historic event was extended by Pope Leo XIV through Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Vatican’s Secretary of State.
In the Papal invitation sent by Cardinal Pietro Parolin, Pope Leo underscored the need for President Tinubu’s physical presence “at this moment of particular importance for the Catholic Church and the world afflicted by many tensions and conflicts”.
Pope Leo further stressed: “Your great nation is particularly dear to me as I worked in the Apostolic Nunciature in Lagos during the 1980s.”
Tinubu will be accompanied by a high-level delegation, including Ambassador Bianca Odumegwu-Ojukwu, Minister of State for Foreign Affairs; Archbishop Lucius Ugorji, President of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Nigeria and Archbishop of Owerri; Archbishop Ignatius Kaigama of Abuja; Archbishop Alfred Martins of Lagos; and Bishop Matthew Hassan Kukah of the Sokoto Diocese.
Pope Leo XIV, born Robert Francis Prevost, recently became the 267th Bishop of Rome following the death of Pope Francis on April 21, 2025. He is the first American to hold the papacy and has long-standing ties to Nigeria, having served at the Apostolic Nunciature in Lagos during the 1980s.
Tinubu is expected to return to Abuja on Tuesday, May 20. His visit highlights the enduring relationship between Nigeria and the Vatican and acknowledges the Catholic Church’s pivotal role in Nigeria’s religious and social development.
