President Bola Tinubu arrived in Rome on Saturday, March 17, 2025, to participate in the official installation ceremony for His Holiness, Pope Leo XIV, the 267th Pope of the Roman Catholic Church.
This significant ceremony, which will inaugurate Pope Leo XIV’s papacy, is set to take place on Sunday, May 18, with the attendance of global leaders and various religious representatives.
The president arrived at the Mario De Bernardo Military Airport at 6:00 pm local time, where he received a warm welcome from Nigeria’s Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Bianca Odumegwu-Ojukwu, along with representatives from the Vatican and the Nigerian Embassy in Italy.
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President Tinubu is visiting Rome upon the invitation extended by the new Pope, delivered through Cardinal Pietro Parolin, who holds the position of Secretary of State at the Vatican.
In his correspondence, Pope Leo XIV highlighted the importance of the president’s attendance at this pivotal moment for both the Church and the world, especially given the current global tensions.
“Your great nation is especially cherished in my heart as I served in the Apostolic Nunciature in Lagos during the 1980s,” Pope Leo XIV remarked in his correspondence to the president.
Joining President Tinubu are Catholic leaders, including Archbishop Lucius Ugorji, the President of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Nigeria; Archbishop Ignatius Kaigama from Abuja; Archbishop Archbishop Alfred Martins of Lagos; and Bishop Mathew Hassan Kukah from the Diocese of Sokoto.
