President Bola Ahmed Tinubu will travel to Rome on Saturday, May 17, 2025, to attend the official inauguration of Pope Leo XIV, the newly elected head of the Roman Catholic Church. The Vatican extended a formal invitation to the Nigerian leader following the election of the new Pope by the Conclave of Cardinals.
The inauguration Mass is scheduled for Sunday, May 18, and will be held at St. Peter’s Square in the Vatican. It marks the formal beginning of Pope Leo XIV’s pontificate, following his election 27 days after the passing of Pope Francis. Born Robert Francis Prevost, the new Pope becomes the 267th Bishop of Rome and the first American to occupy the papal throne.
In a letter addressed to President Tinubu, the Vatican Secretary of State, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, stated that Tinubu’s presence would be significant “at this moment of particular importance for the Catholic Church and the world afflicted by many tensions and conflicts.” Pope Leo XIV also included a personal message in the correspondence, writing, “Your great nation is particularly dear to me as I worked in the Apostolic Nunciature in Lagos during the 1980s.”
The President will be accompanied by a high-level Nigerian delegation that includes leading figures in the Catholic Church and government. Among them are Archbishop Lucius Ugorji of Owerri, who also serves as the President of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Nigeria; Archbishop Ignatius Kaigama of Abuja; Archbishop Alfred Martins of Lagos; Bishop Matthew Hassan Kukah of Sokoto Diocese; and Ambassador Bianca Odumegwu-Ojukwu, Minister of State for Foreign Affairs.
President Tinubu is expected to return to Abuja on Tuesday, May 20.
