President Bola Ahmed Tinubu is expected to depart Nigeria for Rome, Italy on Saturday.
Tinubu’s visit to Rome followed an invitation by the newly elected Catholic pontiff, Pope Leo XIV ahead of his inauguration.
Tinubu’s invitation was disclosed by his spokesman, Bayo Onanuga via a statement in Thursday.
Accompanied by top Catholic leaders, Tinubu will attend a solemn mass marking the beginning of the Pontificate of Pope Leo XIV, the 267th Bishop of Rome and the new leader of the Roman Catholic Church.
In the Papal invitation sent by Cardinal Pietro Parolin, Pope Leo XIV 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.
“Your great nation is particularly dear to me as I worked in the Apostolic Nunciature in Lagos during the 1980s.”;;
In Tinubu’s entourage include, the Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Bianca Odumegwu-Ojukwu, Archbishop of Owerri and President of Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Nigeria, Archbishop Lucius Ugorji, Archbishop Ignatius Kaigama of Abuja, and Alfred Martins of Lagos.
Onanuga said: “The Catholic Bishop of Sokoto Diocese, Mathew Hassan Kukah, is also in the president’s entourage.”;;
Pope Leo XIV was elected by Conclave of Cardinals after the death of Pope Francis on April 21.
He will be inaugurated on Sunday at the St Peter’s Square in the Vatican.
After his engagement in Rome, Tinubu is expected to return to Abuja on May 20.
