President Bola Tinubu is set to travel to Rome this weekend to witness the official installation of Pope Leo XIV, following an invitation extended by the Vatican.
This was made known in a statement issued on Thursday by Bayo Onanuga, Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy.
According to Onanuga, the president will leave Abuja for the Italian capital on Saturday.
President Tinubu will join other world leaders at the ceremonial mass marking the beginning of the papacy of Pope Leo XIV, the 267th head of the Roman Catholic Church.
The solemn event is scheduled to take place on Sunday at St. Peter’s Square in the Vatican.
The invitation, signed by Cardinal Pietro Parolin on behalf of the new pontiff, emphasised the significance of Tinubu’s attendance, particularly in light of global unrest.
The Pope reportedly conveyed his fondness for Nigeria, recalling his time at the Apostolic Nunciature in Lagos during the 1980s.
Joining President Tinubu on the trip are Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Ambassador Bianca Odumegwu-Ojukwu, and senior Catholic clerics from Nigeria, including Archbishop Lucius Ugorji of Owerri, Archbishop Ignatius Kaigama of Abuja, Archbishop Alfred Martins of Lagos, and Bishop Matthew Hassan Kukah of Sokoto.
The newly elected Pope, formerly Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost, was chosen by the Conclave of Cardinals 27 days after the passing of Pope Francis on April 21.
His official investiture as the spiritual leader of over a billion Catholics worldwide will occur on Sunday, May 18.
President Tinubu is expected to return to Nigeria on Tuesday, May 20.
