President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has arrived in Rome, Italy, ahead of the installation mass of Pope Leo XIV.
Gatekeepers News reports that in a statement released on Saturday, Bayo Onanuga, Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, said Tinubu’s visit follows an invitation from the Vatican.
According to Onanuga, the Vatican described the event as “a moment of particular importance for the Catholic Church and the world afflicted by many tensions and conflicts.”
The presidential aide noted that Tinubu’s aircraft landed at Mario De Bernardo military airport at 6pm local time, where he was received by Bianca Odumegwu-Ojukwu, minister of state for foreign affairs, and officials from Vatican City and Nigerian embassy.
Onanuga noted that the invitation was conveyed by Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Vatican’s secretary of state, on behalf of Pope Leo XIV.
In the invitation letter, the new pope expressed fondness for Nigeria, recalling his time serving in the Apostolic Nunciature in Lagos during the 1980s.
The presidential entourage includes top figures in Nigerian Catholic hierarchy, which include Lucius Ugorji, archbishop of Owerri and president of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Nigeria; Ignatius, archbishop of Abuja; Alfred Martins, archbishop of Lagos; and Mathew Hassan Kukah, a bishop from Sokoto diocese.
Onanuga noted that the installation mass will be held on Sunday, May 18.
