Tinubu Arrives Rome for Pope Leo XIV’s Inauguration Mass Today

President Bola Tinubu has arrived in Rome, Italy, ahead of today’s inaugural mass for Pope Leo XIV, the newly elected 267th Bishop of Rome and head of the Roman Catholic Church.

According to a statement from presidential spokesperson Bayo Onanuga, Tinubu is attending the installation mass at the invitation of the Vatican’s Secretary of State, Cardinal Pietro Parolin.

The Nigerian Air Force 1 plane carrying the president landed at the Mario De Bernardo Military Airport at 6 p.m. local time, where he was received by Nigeria’s Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Bianca Odumegwu-Ojukwu, officials from Vatican City, and representatives from the Nigerian Embassy.

The Vatican emphasized the importance of President Tinubu’s presence at the historic event, noting that it comes at a time when the world faces numerous tensions and conflicts. In the invitation letter, Pope Leo XIV recalled his time in Nigeria during the 1980s, saying, “Your great nation is particularly dear to me as I worked in the Apostolic Nunciature in Lagos.”

Accompanying the president are prominent Nigerian Catholic leaders, including Archbishop Lucius Ugorji of Owerri, who also heads the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Nigeria; Archbishop Ignatius Kaigama of Abuja; Archbishop Alfred Martins of Lagos; and Bishop Matthew Hassan Kukah of Sokoto Diocese.