The 267th Bishop of Rome and the new leader of the Roman Catholic Church, Pope Leo XIV, has extended a personal invitation to President Bola Tinubu to his inauguration on Sunday, May 18.
In the Papal invitation, sent by Cardinal Pietro Parolin, Pope Leo XIV, stressed 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.”
President Tinubu who has accepted the invitation is scheduled to depart Abuja for Rome, the capital of Italy, on Saturday, May 17. He will be accompanied by the Catholic Bishop of Sokoto Diocese, Mathew Hassan Kukah.
Others in President Tinubu’s entourage includes 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.
Pope Leo XIV, formerly Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost, will be formally installed at St. Peter’s Square in the Vatican.
The Conclave of Cardinals elected him 27 days after his predecessor, Pope Francis, died on April 21.
A statement from the presidency said that Tinubu will return to Abuja on Tuesday, May 20.
