President Bola Tinubu has arrived in Rome, Italy, to attend the inauguration of Pope Leo XIV tomorrow, Sunday.

Pope Leo is the 267th Bishop of Rome and leader of the Roman Catholic Church.

President Tinubu’s flight landed at the Military Airport in Rome at about 5 a.m, local time on Saturday.

Ongoing was a solemn mass marking the commencement of the Pontificate of His Holiness Pope Leo XIV.

Earlier, a statement by the Presidency disclosed that President Tinubu’s trip to Rome was at the invitation of the Vatican, following the election of Pope Leo XIV by the Conclave of Cardinals.

The Presidency said a letter to President Tinubu by Cardinal Pietro Parolin conveyed the Pope’s appreciation of the Nigerian leader’s presence.

It described it as significant “at this moment of particular importance for the Catholic Church and a 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.”

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, Archbishop Lucius Ugorji; Archbishop Ignatius Kaigama of Abuja, and Alfred Martins of Lagos.

Vanguard News