Felicia Asuquo, Abuja
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu will depart Abuja for Rome, the capital of Italy, on Saturday to attend the inauguration ceremony of Pope Leo XIV.
In a release signed by the Presidential Spokesperson, Mr Bayo Onanuga stated that he would be accompanied by top Catholic leaders so as to attend a solemn mass marking the beginning of the Pontificate of His Holiness Pope Leo XIV, the 267th Bishop of Rome and the new leader of the Roman Catholic Church.
According to the release,Pope Leo XIV sent a Papal invitation through Cardinal Pietro Parolin,stating that Pope Leo XIV underscored the need for President Tinubu’s physical presence “at this moment of particular importance for the Catholic Church and the world afflicted by many tensions and conflicts.
Pope Leo further stressed: “Your great nation is particularly dear to me as I worked in the Apostolic Nunciature in Lagos during the 1980s.”
Read Also:President Tinubu Congratulates His Holiness Leo XIV As Bishop Of Rome
Investigator news reports that President Tinubu’s entourage includes the Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Bianca Odumegwu-Ojukwu, Archbishop of Owerri and President of Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Nigeria.
Others are Archbishop Lucius Ugorji, Archbishop Ignatius Kaigama of Abuja, and Alfred Martins of Lagos,the Catholic Bishop of Sokoto Diocese and Mathew Hassan Kukah.
Investigator news gathered that Pope Leo XIV, formerly Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost, will be formally installed to the exalted office on Sunday, May 18, at St. Peter’s Square in the Vatican.
The Conclave of Cardinals elected him 27 days after his predecessor, Pope Francis, died on April 21.
President Tinubu is expected to return to Abuja on Tuesday, May 20.