President Bola Tinubu has arrived in Rome, Italy, to attend the solemn mass marking the beginning of the Pontificate of Pope Leo XIV, as the 267th Bishop of Rome and leader of the Roman Catholic Church.
The President touched down at the Mario De Bernardo Military Airport on Saturday, ahead of the installation mass scheduled for Sunday, at St. Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican.
Upon arrival, President Tinubu was received by Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Bianca Odumegwu-Ojukwu, and officials from the Vatican City and the Nigerian Embassy.
The President’s visit is to honour a personal invitation from Pope Leo XIV, conveyed by Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Vatican’s Secretary of State.
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Pope Leo XIV also expressed his fondness for Nigeria, recalling his time working at the Apostolic Nunciature in Lagos during the 1980s.
President Tinubu’s entourage includes prominent Catholic Church leaders, such as Archbishop Lucius Ugorji, Archbishop Ignatius Kaigama, Archbishop Alfred Martins, and Bishop Mathew Hassan Kukah.
(Editor: Terverr Tyav)
